Dear Teach: Pastels everywhere---can you name that blossom?

Hi Boys and Girls,

Well, if you haven't noticed, look around you. Spring is here and it is teeming with a blast of color. Beautiful pastels! They are everywhere. 

These flowering trees put a smile on your face. Besides the fact they help us welcome Spring, just looking at them brings joy and inner peace. 

Future days will be warmer and many more trees will green and others will burst into vivid hues. 

But trees that are blossoming now, in these first few weeks of April are very special indeed. They may be timid, or fierce and bold for they bare the all too unsure condition of, "Is it safe yet, will there be an unexpected frost to wilt our blossoms?" 

Regardless, and as if on cue these magnificent trees bravely open their buds one-by-one, petal by petal for all to see their spectacular display and smell their intoxicating scents!  

But that isn't all, if you stand quietly beneath anyone of these trees not only will you be swallowed up in the sweetness of their aroma, but you will hear the frenzy of busy bees humming in pure delight. 

Now don't move or disturb them, just observe them. These little miracles of nature bring pollen to and from one flowering plant to another and are the gardeners of our fields and plants. 

Tip your head back and look up at the sturdy tree trunk and its graceful limbs which hold hundreds of bouquets of flowers. 

By now we've used most all our senses, well almost except for touch. No need to, unless you have planted trees or bushes for the purpose of cutting and bringing their flowerets indoors.

And, sooner or later you may have spotted or wondered, "Now what is that beautiful flowering tree," or "what's that yellow bush I see everywhere?"

You may not be a budding arboriculturist [no pun intended], but it doesn't mean you shouldn't know the names of the native trees that adorn the North Eastern part of the United States each spring. 

Knowing a few names of trees and what their flowering parts look like may well provide you with a few details to support you and your writing. It'll give your sentences a flair!

So without further adieu, can you guess the names of the flowering images below?

Here's a few to consider:

Forthysia bush with elongated woody stems

Because these grow so prolifically, homeowners will clip a few of their long stems and bring them indoors for a splash of Spring color.

Look closely here, you'll see a perfectly formed star. What tree do these blossoms belong to?

White with ever-so-light pink edges

Strong graceful limbs

Blossoms against green and white clouds

Seemingly, giant cottonballs against blue sky

Have you seen these?

It is the Glorious Cherry Blossom tree!

Deep pink Japanese Cherry Blossoms

Japanese Cherry Blossom tree, one of the first to blossom

Saucer Magnolia bud begins to unfold, 
resembling a large saucer when fully opened

Large Magnolia tree buds waiting to burst

Flowering Magnolia's filament

Magnolias opening up

Stella Magnolia Blossom

Small Stella Magnolia Bush 

Have you seen these?

Here's a close up of these amazing blossoms.

Weeping Cherry tree,
resemble pink clusters of cotton candy!

These are everywhere one looks!

Have you seen them?

They often line the downtown streets
 casting a canopy of whitish greenish hues...
the outstanding and exquisite Pear tree!

So what's blooming in your back yard?

Be well kids!

The Teach