Members share their favorite trees.

Weep no more
I love the way the delicate limbs of the weeping willow (Salix babylonica) hang to the grass. My daughter, when she was young, called it a sweeping willow tree. My tree is huge and majestic and is probably more than 100 years old.
—Marilyn Silvius, Lancaster, PA

For the dogs
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is beautiful in spring, when it’s in full bloom, and has spectacular foliage and berries in fall and winter. I grow it from seed every year.
—Peggy Bearnth, Coldspring, TX

Sycamore memories
When I was young, we vacationed in the Texas hill country where there were many sycamores (Platanus spp.). I remember their smell and the large, beautiful leaves and the white, peeling bark. Many pleasant memories are linked with these trees.
—Cindy Westbrook, Gainesville, TX

Purple pride
When the leaves of the ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’) come out, they are a beautiful shade of purple and deep crimson. When the wind blows, those big leaves teeter on their stems; it’s like have a living mobile. —Margaretha Brooks, Lynchburg, VA

Tasty favorite
I love the pecan (Carya illinoinensis) because it’s a wonderful shade tree in the summer, and it helps make wonderful desserts, sweet breads, cookies, and brownies. Just ask my 9-year-old neighbor, Shelton, who asks me to make him pecan brownies.
—Leta Kegg, Lubbock, TX

Inspiring pine
My favorite tree is any kind of pine (Pinus spp.).
I enjoy this tree’s beauty all year round. Snow adds elegance and inspiration. Pines also protect birds in winter months. I enjoy scattering birdseed under the pines in winter to watch the birds enjoying a meal.
—Sharon Linch, Parkersburg, WV

Native beauties
No tree compares to the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). It has shiny, deep green leaves and yellow-green and orange tulip flowers. When a child, I marked my birthday by the blooming of the tulip trees. Now I have two in my own backyard. I am blessed to live in the eastern United States where these gems are native.
—Martha McKown, Newburgh, IN

Sassy sassafras
I had a sassafras tree (Sassafras spp.) in my yard several years ago. It heralded the coming of fall, as it was the first tree in the city to change colors. You could smell the citrus aroma if you stepped on a fallen branch.
—Pattie Waschek, Elyria, OH