Now on to the twigs...

I realize that most of my "twigs + loaves" posts have dealt with the "loaves." Cooking and baking does seem to take up most of my time these days, especially with the heat we have been having... Even I don't want to be spending a whole lot of time outside gardening. Sadly, my plants are not looking their lushest. (Hmmm, could those two sentences be read as 'cause and effect'?) I will even admit to having some less-than-alive plants in pots (My apologies, sweet neighbors!).

But the good thing about this time of year is that we are now in the months with an "r"... which of course means that I can begin trimming up my trees! (Is everyone but me familiar with that little mnemonic device: "You never trim a tree in a month without an 'r' ?" Thank you to Jon M., for sharing that tidbit with me!)

Last spring we planted a Forest Pansy red bud in our front bed. We were told it was a slow grower, but the promise of delicate purple flowers every spring and the glossy purple-green of the new foliage was appealing. Perhaps we misunderstood the bit about the slow-growing part... The tree has doubled in size! Not that we mind... It is a lovely tree, but with it growing up so quickly I found myself chomping to give it a bit of a trim. Patiently I waited through May, June, July and August... and promptly took up the saw in September!

Even in the trimming, this tree just keeps on giving me joy. After stripping off the leaves, beautiful twiggy branches were revealed. I think they look lovely in my living room...

Don't you think they will look pretty with ornaments at Christmas time, too?

And so my love for trees and twigs continues...