A few of my favorite trees

The Aesculus carnea brioti, Red Horsechestnut, is loaded with flowers in the hummingbird/butterfly garden behind my house. The red flowers have yellow throats. Afternoon shade provided by neighboring trees protects the foliage from scorch in the summer. This garden area is built on an old compost pile. It also has a Butterflies Magnolia, Summer Wine Ninebark, Bearded Iris, Little Henry Sweetspire, Limelight Hydrangea, Mahonia, and Columbine. Like all my gardens, it only receives water when it rains or snows and very little care. Red Horsechestnut is a favorite is because it is a tough tree that has beautiful flowers and great foliage.

There is a lot to like with Acer truncatum, Shantung Maple - smaller mature size, foliage and bark. A multi-stem one is planted in a garden where I wanted to screen a driveway and street but had limited space. The attractive foliage matures to dark green in the summer and then has yellow fall color. The color and texture of the bark gives it year round interest.

Of course, in my family, a garden isn't complete without a Cercis canadensis, Eastern Redbud. Ours is about 25 years old and the kids, including the neighborhood ones, love to climb it. While I do love this tree, if I ever plant another Redbud, it will probably be an Oklahoma Redbud. It has deeper flower color plus glossy green foliage in the summer.

All of these are available at KAT Nurseries. I hope you will come out and visit and tell us about a few of your favorite trees.