And why do you like it so much?
I’m going to go with white oak. The wood is very versatile; it’s strong enough for load bearing furniture, it’s hard enough for tabletops, it steam bends quite nicely, it’s just a joy to work with, looks wonderful under an oil finish, and it lends a nice flavor to whiskey.
Willows. They feel so incredibly relaxed, like they just don’t give a shit.
Bending in the wind like a ballerina
Love me a magnolia tree
Redbud. It’s got such pretty blossoms and the leaves are a really pleasing shape.
It’s the State tree of Oklahoma. When my neighbors’ redbud starts making pods, I’m gonna snag a bunch, refrigerate them over winter, then scarify and try to get a few to germinate the following spring. It takes probably 5 or so years to start getting flowers, but I really love everything about these trees, not just their awesome flowers. The heart shaped leaves they develop in summer are so cute.
So anyway, I love those dark maples with the leaves that are so blue they’re almost black in certain light. I call them goth maples.
Picture:
Oh wow it’s about as close as you can get
American Chestnut. Have a few seedlings we planted in the front yard. Super excited to be part of the process of restoring them
Japanese Maple. Had one by the front door of the house I grew up in. Reminds me of my childhood home.
Oh the colors
Birch!
They’re just so beautiful!
I’ve got three and I’ve been trying to grow each from seed:
- Dawn Redwood because it has an incredible backstory, it is a true redwood contrary to popular belief, and It easily grows where I’m at.
- Giant Sequoia because they are massive, it is also a true redwood, and it can allegedly grow where I’m at.
- Cedar of Lebanon because I grew up in one of the many U.S. towns of Lebanon named for the trees as referenced in that religious book and I remember the original Cedar of Lebanon referenced in that story I linked.
Unfortunately, I can’t get the Giant Sequoias past a few inches tall while even acknowledging their infamous 20% germination rate. The Cedar of Lebanon seeds I can’t even get to germinate but I also haven’t found as much academic literature on cultivating them from seeds.
Shoutout to the Ginkgo Biloba for being one of the OG trees, also.
Yew, so many are really old and have a mystical air to them.
Everything about the Gingko tree is pretty cool
It really is a cool tree, but man, having to walk near fallen gingko nuts every day during the autumn is kind of torture.
Despite being really really invasive here in Europe, I love the Staghorn Sumac.
It’s very pretty, with great flowers and soft furry branches (like antlers). You can make an amazing “lemonade” from the fruits and you can eat the shoots raw.
And eating the shoots raw is a great idea, because it branches out like crazy. If your neighbors have one of these, you’ll soon have half a dozen too.
They also grow pretty fast, and the wood is super pretty (and super curvy, so you won’t be making any boards out of it)
I’ll keep my eyes open for those next spring
Charlie Brown christmas tree. Are there Christmas tree bonsais?
There was a HUGE oak tree at my grandma’s house. I mean it was MASSIVE covering like the whole yard and was like 5 feet in diameter.
I grew up playing under it climbing limbs and swinging on a tire swing and a funner branch-seat swing which was lighter so it would go higher. Heres kinda how it looked:
Anyways, in a hurricane a few years ago a large branch snapped off and it got infected and had to be chopped down :(
Mango tree!! 🥭🌳
It’s big, it provides plenty of shades, it’s unassuming, and most importantly it has mangoes!!
Apple tree, cause cider beer is amazing (the dry stuff like Strongbow)
This is a really great answer. Concise, listed, and checks all the boxes. Kudos.
