Roberta Bondar | Available Work

We now see a leaf’s underlying pigments, masked by the colour of chlorophyll during the spring and summer. Temperature, sunlight and soil moisture all affect the quality of the glorious fall colours. Trees are truly great beings, quietly drawing from the environment only those things needed for growth and reproduction. They replenish the earth after death and give us oxygen to breathe until our own passing. We associate the sturdy oak with long life, resilience and acorn bombs. In Canada there are 11 species of oaks that can be grouped into either red oaks or white oaks. One distinguishing feature is the shape of the leaves: the white oak leaf group has rounded lobes whereas the red oak group has bristle-tipped lobes.

For some trees, like the redbud, it will be the first time in a five year old’s life that flowers will grow to meet the warming rays of the sun. This is a season of celebration. From March to May, the magenta pink flowers of the redbud pop out from bare branches and even from the trunk itself, well before the leaves appear. Bees dart in and around the pink canopy, polinating as they reach deep inside each flower for the nectar. Native to southern Ontario, the redbud is also a popular ornamental tree and a source of seeds for many species of birds.