Friday, April 29, 2011

Purple Leaf Plum


Purple Leaf Plum
Prunus cerasifera 'Thundercloud'
(PROO-nus) (ke-ra-SEE-fer-uh)

I love this tree despite the fact it has proved tricky in the past for me to grow. The tree these flowers are on has proved to be a good one. Totally loaded with flowers (as most of the flowering trees seem to be this year) and growing with a good straight trunk. It is really pretty this year with the emerging coppery foliage mixed in with the flowers. Later in the season the leaves turn a deep purple, which makes for a nice accent.

Earlier this week we went down to New York City to care for a couple of nice courtyard gardens. You would have laughed at me pushing my wheelbarrow up the cobblestone paved street of the historical area near the Financial District. I had my rake, shovel and pruners too. Everything went quite smoothly and the problems I had conjured up in my head never materialized. Here is a picture of the street we were working on. One problem was deciding where to eat lunch out (a rare treat). Just on the one block there were 5 or 6 good places. The smell was delicious and a tad overwhelming when it got near lunchtime.

2 comments:

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I love the blooms on your tree! I would not be able to guess where you were able to garden from your city photo. Were the courtyards in this area, or somewhere else?

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Right on this block. The lower buildings have apartments and it is a lovely neighborhood.


There are courtyard gardens on both sides of the street. Plus there are a lot of big pots to fill on the roofs.