Catalogues and Cedar Trees

Seasonal Thoughts

 

 

The weather is that of deep winter and but for the birds scurrying about there is little action in the garden… it is resting, awaiting  Spring. After the fervor of the holidays many gardeners are content to relax and browse the catalogues that begin arriving this time of year to temp us with new and amazing gifts we may bequeath our gardens.  Considered the gardeners ‘dream books’ they are generally poured over until threadbare as they feature the latest hybrids. Always intriguing hybrids, which are genetically modified to alter the look and performance of a plant, often produce a product which is astounding.

The cramped and simple gardens belonging to poor laborers and factory workers in Europe were the birthplace of the hybridized flowers we now know. In the early 18^th and 19^th centuries the Carnation, which was once the size of a dime-sized Dianthus, grew to the proportions we now recognize. Petals were doubled and redoubled as enthusiastic breeders toiled in their tiny spaces after working long hours at their jobs.  Plant breeders today work as tirelessly as their predecessors so plan to add something totally new, unusual, and fantastic this coming season.

Being house bound this time of year is perhaps a blessing since the Cedars are currently pollinating and if one merely brushes by one, a pale yellow mist will swirl about the hapless wanderer. This pollen causes considerable misery to those who dwell among them and they are prolific throughout the state. It is an ancient tree with the oldest known living tree to be over 500 years living near Tulsa… it is obviously a determined tree and the product of evolved survival tactics. It will grow in impossible conditions and each one will selfishly take any and all available water, leaving less aggressive trees to perish at their feet.

The female trees are covered with small blue berries; each one is an infant Cedar tree. The birds gorge themselves in a frenzied feast, fly to rest in leafy trees, and drop a Cedar ‘package’ of unprocessed berries to grow at the base of the tree. The aggressive adolescent Cedars surround and literally choke or starve any other species of tree, taking all water and nutrients from the soil for themselves.

In retrospect, it is an amazement they were purposefully introduced enmass to Oklahoma as wind breaks to hold the land following the dust bowl. At the time the public was unaware of their aggressive nature and their rapid growth and hardy habits were considered a miracle. Forestry folk encourage the replacement of cedar trees with more beneficial trees like native oak, elm, or other non invasive species.

Photo: Princess Parizade Bringing Home the Singing Tree from The Arabian Nights, 1906, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish.  

*I wish to see a singing tree!