Western Catalpa

This guy was the MVP of Utah this month. Anna and I feel like we are in Hawaii when we go back to Holladay after a prolonged stay in Tucson. We get excited to roll down the window and smell the green of the Salt Lake neighborhoods. And we nerdily point out the different plants we like. I'm always looking up at trees. She's always looking down at flowers.

We found one tree that catered to both our tastes. The Western Catalpa is around the Wasatch Front and it stands out in June with its white, bell-shaped flowers. It's tall and stately, with large branches from which hang shoe string pods and heart-shaped, tropical-looking flowers.

The tree supports large amounts of snow, but before doing that changes from yellow to a dull brown in the fall.

It's a litter bug, but seems to be worth it for the month of June when it looks like a tree carrying white flowers. Awesome.

Arizona Sycamore

When you ride your bike through town sometimes you're hit with a sweet, green smell of the Arizona sycamore. It will take you back to all your memories of camping and hiking up creek beds in the 2000 to 5000 feet elevations.

It's a floodplain tree, and needs lots of water to survive. Its bark is mottled and nearly all white when the brown outer bark strips away. It is tall, reaching up to 80 feet. In the spring you can notice small, tiny, hairy brown balls that the flower produces as its fruit.

Its smell will get you drunk with delight. I love the sweet sycamore and would consider it an honored resident in my front yard some day. It is one of the best ornamental trees.