Edith Makra
Community Trees Advocate

Ever notice how spring and early summer have such a pretty, fresh fragrance? Soft scents seem to brush up against you like a beautiful stranger, catch your breath, and then drift away. Where is that tantalizing smell coming from? The showiest of spring bulbs, clouds of crabapple blooms, and lavish lilacs are since spent. You don’t see blooms around you, but there’s definitely a floral fragrance in the air.

This week it is the catalpas that are catching our eyes and tickling our olfaction. Their voluptuous, white, orchid-like blooms throw their soft tropical scent from high overhead. Dripping with clusters of white flowers from tiered branches, these gorgeous trees are too large to be categorized as an ornamental tree, yet too floriferous to be described as a shade tree. The really ostentatious bloomers -magnolias, cherries, and crabapples – ushered in the season. Now a handful of really fine shade trees step out of character and dress up in blossoms for a few weeks, stealing the late spring scene.

The first big trees that bloom bountifully are the horse-chestnuts and buckeyes. Huge stalks, up to a foot high, of complex white flowers dabbed with yellow and red cover the horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) in mid May. A bit unusual are the striking red-flowering stalks, called panicles, of the red horse-chestnut (Aesculus x carnea.) Still eye-catching, but somewhat less so, are the yellow-green panicles of flowers on the buckeye trees (Aesculus glabra). Buckeyes and chestnuts have large, lush leaves that give them a tropical flair. Mature trees create a most inviting, enormous, flower-strewn canopy, with branches that arch gracefully like the arms of a chandelier.

Every year I am enchanted by the bold and playful color combination in the blossoms of the magnificent tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera). Green, orange, and yellow all interplay in one huge blossom shaped just like a tulip. The velvety chartreuse stamens will form the cone-like cluster of seeds in the fall. Succulent leaves trace the outline of a tulip blossom, as a child might draw it. This is among the biggest of flowering trees. In the landscape tuliptrees can reach 70 feet high but in the woods, these tall trees tower up to 120 feet.

The black locust tree (Robinia pseudoaccacia)is a rather rugged tree. With thick, ridged bark and spiny stems this tough character frequents strip mines, alleys, and highways. But in late May or early June, the deliciously fragrant blossoms betray its gentler side. White pea-like flowers drip in abundant strands called racemes that can be 4-8 inches long. Rarely, the purple flowering cultivar is also seen.

I especially prize the stealth scenters—trees whose unremarkable blooms ambush you with potent aromas. Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioica) is becoming increasingly popular as a street tree. But who notices the flowers? Small greenish-white flowers cast a fragrance as rich as roses inconspicuously from the crowns of mature trees. Kentucky coffeetree stays true to character as a unique and elegantly formed shade tree throughout the season until winter reveals sparse branching that is especially awkward on adolescent trees.

Another stealth bloomer that packs a powerful fragrance punch is the linden (Tilia sp.). These common and tough trees envelop many plazas, streets, and urban landscapes in a heady scent without commanding much attention from the eyes. Tiny yellow-green flowers are nearly lost among ample heart-shaped leaves. Late in the fall their strange fruit, a stalked and winged nutlet, is subtly revealed.

I must confess, some of my favorite big bloomers are not universally loved. The catalpa has at times been banished from city streets. After all, lots of blooms must eventually fall. Though I find spent flowers beneath the crown as pretty as a white doily, others find them messy and treacherous to walk through. They also produce a long cigar-like pod, excellent for childhood duels but not favored by adults who must rake them. The chestnuts and buckeyes also get cursed for their large nuts – charming as they are with the “buck’s eye” marking. Finally, the black locust gets snubbed as a weed tree for the zealous growth of young seedlings.

But, if you want another perspective, ask the bees and our ancestors across the pond. Both linden and black locust flowers are prized by bees and honey aficionados. Europeans treasure the black locust, which is sometimes called acacia. Linden flowers are harvested for a pleasant tea, called “lime” tea commonly found in Europe. Lucky for us, these big bloomers are once again being planted (they are replacing more common and popular trees being claimed by invasive pests).

Next time you wander by a blooming catalpa, linden, black locust, or other large-flowering shade tree, stop and take a moment to breathe in its heady aroma. Look up. Wonder at its impressive height. Enjoy its cooling shade. Forgive its messiness. And appreciate the gifts that blooming beauty offers up in spring and all year long.

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