Identifying Plants in Dormancy (Not for long...Spring has Sprung)

As the season begins this Spring for Kate Refine Designs, we will be entering people‘s gardens before many deciduous shrubs and trees have begun to set bud, leaf out or flower. The challenge and the fun part of visiting peoples homes so early in the season is to help them identify the existing plants they have in their garden - something helpful to new homeowners or new gardeners.

Specific items we will be looking for to help identify a dormant planting are: bud shape, stem color and shape, and the form of the tree or shrub.

The bud shape can be long and pointy like this Serviceberry bud...

Or this Viburnum bud...

Or fat and clustered like this Norway Maple ...

or like this Fragrant Viburnum ...

The stems, can be cinnamon in color like this Clethra

or have zig zag movement like this redbud.

The form of a tree can be disntinctive like the pyramidal shape of the Linden...

or the rounded shape of the Red Maple....

or multi-stemmed, with distinctive bark of the Japanese Tree Lilac

Being able to identify the plant will help us to know when to prune, and in designing the garden, to allow us to choose complimentary plants.

Hopefully, soon we will have some green on the trees and some flowers, until then, we will look at the buds, stems and form to identify plants in your garden.