April showers bring crabapples, tulips, magnolias and more as Petworth blooms
/by Steven Feingold
If you’ve found yourself walking around our beautiful neighborhood admiring the flowers and wondering what you’re looking at, we’re here to help. Welcome to "Petworth Blooming,” a popular series featuring some of the most common plants and flowers seen around Petworth. Follow @petworthblooms on Instagram for additional photos of our neighborhood flora.
White Crabapples in Sherman Circle
Crabapples trees are in the same genus as normal apples, but produce much smaller and more sour fruit. They are also much easier to grow. The flowers each have five petals, which is a clue that these trees are related to cherries, plum, almond and pear trees (all of which are part of the rose family).
Pink Crabapples in Grant Circle
Another plant closely related to apples is the Flowering Quince. Like its relatives, this Asian shrub also displays flowers with five petals and produces small super sour fruits in the fall that look a bit like apples. They are guarded by some nasty thorns though.
Flowering quince in Grant Circle.
Speaking of nasty thorns, Firethorn, aka Pyracantha (literally “fire thorn” in Greek), is yet another relative of apples. This bush is great for making impenetrable hedges, sports some nice flowers in spring and attractive clusters of berries in the fall.
Firethorn on 9th Street NW, behind the Pizza Hut.
Continuing with the rose family, the Kwanzan Cherries are in full force right now, showing off their intricate flower structure. These trees have a mutation that results in extra petals in each flower.
Kwanzan cherry on New Hampshire Ave.
A closer look at the petals from a tree on 8th Street NW
Moving on to a different plant family, there are a number of Magnolias species around the neighborhood. The spring blooming ones are all Asian in origin, and have been widely hybridized. The larger Asian magnolia trees finished blooming a few weeks ago, but their more shrub-like relatives are still flowering now.
Hybrid magnolia on Varnum Street NW.
Redbuds are full of activity right now as bumblebees load up on the early season nectar and pollen provided by these native trees. These plants are members of the pea family, and the resemblance is noticeable with close inspection of the flowers. The flowers grow directly from the branches and trunk, which is fairly unusual for trees in our area.
Redbud on 7th Street next to E.L. Haynes school.
Full profusion of redbud flowers on Buchanan Street NW.
Last but certainly not least, Tulips are blooming everywhere right now! These members of the lily family originally come from central Asia, but have made it to just about every temperate garden in the world.
Pink tulips on Varnum Street NW.
Tulips in Grant Circle.
Tulips and daffodils next to the Pizza Hut.
There’s always something blooming in Petworth! Let us know your favorite, or if there’s a particular flower in the area that you want to know more about! And be sure to follow @petworthblooms on Instagram for additional photos of our neighborhood flora.
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