Shadbush flowers appear before leaves emerge and are approximately one-and-one-quarter inches wide with five narrow white petals that appear in clusters.
Serviceberry: the white forest glow
Brightening the emerging spring landscape with frizzy bursts of white flowers is one of the season’s earliest bloomers—serviceberry.
Also called shadblow, Juneberry and shadbush, the blooming of this delicate tree, which may also take the form of a shrub, typically coincides with the upstream movement of shad into regional waters for spawning.
May is uniquely lush with life force and inspiration for gardeners. Blood and sap are both coursing. The same force, which reawakens the plants, and blossoms in their fragrance and loveliness, moves in lovers. Feeling their hearts open again, they yearn for a retrieval of the magical awareness, which is love. Spirits of mischief haunt the budding woods.
The mystery of spring’s renewal from a barren winter landscape captures everyone’s heart by happy surprise. Freshly greening foliage of herbs and trees entices the soul of a gardener, as in no other time of year.
