.The autumn has come and this amazing Madrone is displaying its purple colors, the textures of its bark creating a perfect painting.
Inspirational Poems
Trees
by Joyce Kilmer , 1918
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Tree Marriage
by William Meredith
In Chota Nagpur and Bengal
the betrothed are tied with threads to
mango trees, they marry the trees
as well as one another, and
the two trees marry each other.
Could we do that some time with oaks
or beeches? This gossamer we
hold each other with, this web
of love and habit is not enough.
In mistrust of heavier ties,
I would like tree-siblings for us,
standing together somewhere, two
trees married with us, lightly, their
fingers barely touching in sleep,
our threads invisible but holding.
About Madrone Tree
Beauty and the beast in one tree. In a native grove this tree can look sublime. This tree is difficult to transplant, even as a sapling. It doesn't seem tolerant of the urban environment. It seems to prefer a low ground cover for protection during the first year or two. It needs coarse, well drained, rocky soils. The leathery leaves are ovate and dark, shiny green above; paler green below. The fragrant flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds which can sometimes swarm a heavily flowering tree. Other birds love the bright red-orange berries that often last till Christmas.It is the incredible bark that makes this tree such a prize. In the early spring it looks like pale green human skin which slowly turns flesh hues and then tan. In the summer it becomes flushed with bright orange and red tones, turning a rich mahogany in autumn. Then it begins to crack and peel in fantastic shapes through the winter, revealing new skin in the spring. It is always changing and is best seen in view of a window or often traveled walkway.These trees prefer full sun and grow well on hill slopes or at the top of sharp drop-offs. They can be spectacular in the setting sun.
Habitat and Geographic Range
From Vancouver Island, British Columbia, south through the lowlands of the Cascades, sometimes found in the Sierra Nevada, through San Diego County and the southern California coastal mountains and finally to it's most southern growth area of Santa Cruz Island, the Pacific madrone is always distinctive wherever it places it's roots. It's elevation choices are from sea level to 6,000 feet.
The environments we find this beauty range from areas with average rainfall as much as 150 inches yearly to as little as 15 inches a year. As particular as it can be to establish, once it settles down to grow it will withstand high temperatures and drought to wet freezing conditions. Although it prefers some sun, it seems not to mind some partial shade. It often strikes a fellowship with oak or conifers as long as the forest does not smother it by standing too near. Neighbors known to live amicably with the Pacific madrone are Oregon white oak, Canyon live oak, tan oak, chinquapin, California black oak, California laurel, white or Douglas fir, coast redwood or Ponderosa pine. In fact, this unique tree often becomes the nursemaid to young Douglas fir seedlings.