Nature has so many ways to announce spring’s arrival, from the flowering of daffodils, crocuses, and other early bulbs to the unmistakable calls of wood frogs and spring peepers, to the emergence of earthworms after a warm, soaking rain.
Mention to friends that you’ve planted an evergreen tree in your yard, and most will assume you’ve added a pine, arborvitae, or a related conifer. But there are also evergreen flowering trees, and in our region, the native American holly is one of the most popular.
Black cherries make handsome specimen trees. White flowers hang in four- to six-inch, upright to pendulous clusters. They are visited by native bees, honeybees, flies and beetles, and, after pollination, they form purple to blue-black fruits.