My Green Thumb--NOT

Aren’t these blooms gorgeous? I could lie and say they are the result of time spent down on my knees and up to my elbows in the “good earth”. But that’s exactly what I’d be doing is lieing. I had absolutely nothing to do with this bit of nature’s beauty. Any guesses as to their identity? Ok, I’ll give ya a hint. Look up, not down, to find their origin. They are the blooms of the Catalpa tree. It has other names; Catawba, Indian Bean, and Cigar Tree. There are 6 of these beautiful trees in my front yard, one on the side and one out back. The blooms have a light fragrance that is filling my front yard right now. As they age, the blooms shower down like gargantuan snowflakes. They cover the roof of my vehicle, Deja, and when I drive off, they blow from the roof a couple at a time, leaving a trail like I’m in a parade, lol. Here is a shot showing last year’s beans, cigars or seed-pods, pick your favorite name.



And here is a longer range pic of just one of these huge, shade giving beauties. You can just imagine how white my yard will soon become.



The leaves are broad and dense. They keep the front yard well shaded even from the brutal full summer sun. They also have one added benefit. Sphinx moths are partial to these trees as a location for their cocoons. The emerging caterpillars are called “catalpa worms” hereabouts, and are prized as bait. Not that I’m waitin on them to make an appearance, or anything like that. At the moment, I’m just enjoyin the show.