Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Catalpa Trees

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The catalpa trees were blooming at Longwood Gardens when we went last week. They were past peak but it was the first time I had seen them in bloom so I took a series of pictures of them.

Catalpas are one of my favorite trees. I associate them with summers at my maternal grandparents. There was a big tree behind their business and another in front of their house that was kept small and trimmed into a round shape. Both trees provided deep shade and, by the time of year I saw them, had the long green seed pods.

Later in my life - there was a large catalpa tree over the swings in the park when my daughter was little. Again, I remember the seed pods but not the flowers.

So - seeing the trees in bloom was a special treat. I had read about the flowers - described as ‘orchid-like’ and they do resemble orchids both in shape and markings. They are large and Henry Adams mentions ‘the thick odor of catalpa trees’ in his The Education of Henry Adams  but these catalpa trees at Longwood did not seem have a strong smell. Maybe different types of catalpa have more smell that these did.

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