Spring Is Here

This is the most beautiful period of the year in my opinion. This is a wild cherry tree (Prunus avium) and it's always first when it comes to blooming. It has a wonderful flower and a pleasant scent but watch out when the petals start to fall down, it makes an imaginable mess.

Yesterday I was happy to see it blooming so early. I believe it's still early but it looks like these trees think otherwise.

I remember when we were kids there was a similar one in the neighborhood and we could hardly wait to get some fruits. The thing is, the cherries were not what we've expected, far from it. It tasted awful.

This is the other interesting flower that comes early in the spring. It's called "Golden Shower" and it appears around spring. The funny thing is it grows as a bush but there are countries where golden shower means a tree, not a bush.

I said interesting flower earlier because just like the Japanese quince, golden shower has flowers first, then leaves. It's a bit backwards but this is how nature works at times. First the whole bush turns yellow and after the flowers start to fade away, leaves grow.

I can't finish this post without a dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) photo. Last year I found out that dandelion leaves are edible. Unfortunately it was too late for me to try it out but maybe this year I'll have the chance to collect some from a safe, pollution-free place.