Flowering Crab Apple

by Kimberly
(Burlington, VT)

Growing up, my grandmother had the most beautiful Flowering Crab Apple tree in her back yard. I have such fond memories of sitting under its spreading branches in the spring as it drooped under the weight of countless fragrant pink blossoms. It would bloom at the exact same time as the Lilac bushes in her yard and the scent would take me to a magical place that I will never forget.

In the fall, my grandmother’s Flowering Crab Apple tree would bear fruit that she would turn into the most delicious jams and jellies that we could enjoy for the rest of the year. I can still taste the tart little crab apples if I close my eyes and think back to those days of my youth. Crab Apple jelly is hands down the best jelly ever crafted, and when it comes from a flowering tree in your own back yard, it is even better. When it is spread onto warm toast on cold winter mornings, it brings me right back to warm spring days filled with flowers.

Someday I hope to own my own home and the very first additions to my property will be at least three Flowering Crab Apple trees in white, pale pink and the deep pink of my grandmother’s tree. The trees will be able to take me back to those tender, fragrant days long ago as I sit under my own flowering wonder and sip my lemonade as my own grandchildren play around me.