Deborah Lundbech's photos with the keyword: Serviceberry

These are two Serviceberry Trees or Shad Bushes growing in my garden. It's one of the very first flowering trees in Vermont and grows in hedgerows and fields in mid to late April. When they bloom they indicate two things in Vermont: "Shadbush" is named after the shad fish that start coming to the surface (for easy fishing) and "Serviceberry" signals that the ground is soft enough to now bury the bodies of people (and have a burial service) for those who died over the winter and were unable to be buried because the ground was too frozen. On another note - I started a tradition that when I had a grandchild I would plant a shrub or tree that had the same initial as their first name - so I now have: HONEY LOCUST for Henry (the eldest at 12) APPLE TREE for Arya SERVICEBERRY for Shepherd SERVICEBERRY for Soren HYDRANGEA for Hazel WILLOW for Wes APPLE TREE for Avery and an ELM for Emerson All doing very well!