Birch Bark Cherry (Prunus serrula)

Birch Bark Cherry
Prunus serrula
(PROO-nus)

Yesterday I had to clear out of here. There was some construction going on at the house and thankfully I wasn’t involved in any of the decisions so I slipped down to the Bronx and the New York Botanical Garden. I went in the afternoon, which was totally different, then my usual morning visits. The gardens were beautiful and I always get a special feeling when I go into the garden. They still had a lot of foliage left compared to Connecticut. I guess that 50 miles makes a big difference. I visited the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and they were still tearing down some of the Chihuly show. I pretty much had the place to myself. I got a couple of nice pictures of the tropical before moving on to the Ladies Border and garden in front of the Conservatory. There were still quite a few flowers left. I then headed over to the Rock Garden.

The Rock Garden is a truly amazing place. I am always in awe of the stuff I see in there. The Birch Bark Cherry was nicely highlighted by the setting sun. The bark is outstanding on this tree. I am not sure why you don’t see more often. It stays small (for a Cherry) and the white flowers are outstanding. It is has good fall color also. The bark has a metallic appearance when the sun is shining on it.

I saw one scene in the Rock Garden that pretty much struck me dumb when I came around the corner. It certainly was some of the best fall foliage I saw this year. I took this picture but it didn’t come out very well. As I was standing there with my puny digital camera I knew it could never capture all the color, especially without a tripod. It is one of the few times recently that I longed for a film camera. I ran this photo through the watercolor filter in PS because it was a little soft. The multi-layering of the different colors and the touch of evergreen were just right. The Rock Garden is always full of surprises and it didn’t disappoint.

(Syn.: Paper-bark Cherry, Tibetan Cherry)