A Grower Perspective

There are so many wonderful tree varieties - most with interesting attributes that make them worthy of planting. I certainly have my favorite trees but the Mount Fuji Cherry (Prunus serrulata ‘Mt. Fuji’) tops my list.

A very dear friend and former employer of mine, Rhoda Lomsky, had a mature Mt. Fuji cherry tree in her landscape and it was there that I first noticed what a gorgeous tree it was. Her tree, with its thick and somewhat gnarled truck and tree structure, seemed majestic and somehow wise. It was in full magnificent bloom, covered in delicate white flowers that looked so soft and pure next to the aged trunk. With the ground covered in white petals that had begun to fall, it gave the appearance of snow surrounding the tree on a warm spring day.

Not long after my discovery of this tree, I planted one in our own landscape. It was a little whip of a tree, not much to see in the beginning. My thoughts turned to other things in a busy life over the span

of several years. Now that it is larger and if I slow down long enough, I notice it each spring. I try to take brief moments to enjoy its spectacular  but brief spring bloom period – first its sweet little pink buds that hang downward and then within days these soft pink buds will open, giving way to pure white flowers. The discovery of pink buds on my Mt. Fuji are a sure sign to me that the cold, dreary days of winter are about to give way to the fresh spring season.

One spring day, I remember saying to Rhoda how I loved that tree so much but how I wished that it bloomed like that all year round rather than for just a short time in the spring. She simply replied, “If it bloomed like that all the time, you would never appreciate it the way you do.”

Later her words would carry meaning far beyond the Mt. Fuji tree we both admired. My friend Rhoda Lomsky and many others I loved have passed away. Like the cherished blooms of the majestic Mt. Fuji cherry tree, I realize now that their presence in my life, while simply not long enough, has been made all the more precious to me by their absence.