Ode to the Redbud

I’m no poet, but if I were, I’d sit down and pen an ode to the gorgeous Redbud (Cercis canadensis). For the entire month of April, the purple and pink blooms of this flowering shrub have graced the hills and roadsides of rural West Virginia, making travel through the hills and hollows of the Mountain State a sheer delight. In my opinion, none of the non-native ornamental shrubs hawked by local nurseries comes close to the visual appeal of our native Redbud.

Credits: The above image is from CountryDreaming at Flickr.