I have always admired this house in the Alphabet District of Northwest Portland. It has a classy, sophisticated paint job and a lovely yard. I fell for one of those Aralia trees back in the days when I was working for Max & Hildy’s, but couldn’t justify the $400 price tag. I visit this one every once in a while, and it is, in some ways, better than owning one.
On one of these visits, I just happened to hit upon a day when the hawthorn tree at the corner of the property was in full, glorious bloom.
The house is three stories, so can get an idea of the scale of this tree.
As I was poking around, trying to get a good angle on the tree, I began noticing the other plantings doing their part to set the stage.
Things were looking pretty nice down the block as well.
There is a soft spot in my heart for hawthorn trees. My Gram had a row of them in the parking strip in front of her house when I was growing up. When new people bought the house, their first act was to chop them all down. Perhaps, had they waited long enough to see them in bloom, the hatchet might have remained safely tucked away in the toolbox (where, in my humble opinion, it usually belongs).
Beautiful tree, that sidewalk of petals is stunning! The foliage in Portland amazes me since it is so very different from San Antonio. The whole block is definitely looking good too.
I have not visited Portland, I’m seeing through blogs like yours and Danger Garden (of course) that I need to put it on the list.
Shirley~Yes, please do come. It will be a wetter, greener experience, but Loree’s garden should go a long way to make you feel more at home. Be sure to let us know, so we can plan a meet-up.
I’ve got to take a closer look. Not really familiar with them. Too bad those people chopped down your gram’s trees.
Beautiful houses with elegant planting -what a lovely place to live.
Wendy~They are easy to overlook…it may be mostly a nostalgia thing.
Christine~And. surprisingly, it’s right in the city, too.
I have always loved Hawthorns. They’re messy, stickery, and that pungent smell is hard on some people, but they are the best trees for wildlife and plain old-fashioned tree-ness!
Jane~Yes to all of the points you make.
Well, Ricki, the tree grows wild all over down here in North Albany to Corvallis. They’re finished blooming now though. Maybe next year. My neighbor has a red-flowered variety and she says that although it’s gorgeous when in bloom, by mid-summer the entire thing is almost completely defoliated–some kind of blight. I think if it were me, I might be tempted to cut it down. Fortunately whatever is wrong with it hasn’t affected the native white-flowered ones.
I love that house and neighborhood. Wouldn’t it be fun to see the inside of that house? 🙂
Grace~There are quite a few of them along the roadside between here and Scappoose too. I never really notice them except when they are in bloom.
Aha! So you share my sidewalk voyeurism.