More Ash Trees Down.

5-20-16 SHORT HILLS: The tree people were here again yesterday and took down two more ash trees that were sick from the leaf hopper disease. They had fed the trees a few weeks ago, and most of the other trees look OK. They did a good job of not damaging the trees and shrubs underneath the trees that came down and did a good clean up.

Lurking in other parts of the state are emerald ash borers, which can also kill the ash trees, but they’re not in Essex County yet. There is a specific treatment for that bug, but not for this one, the leaf hopper.

New blooms: hawthorn, black chokeberry, leucothoe, Asian lilac, rose, star-of-Bethlehem.


Leucothoe is another little, white inverted bell flower like andromeda, lily-of-the-valley and blueberry.

Black chokeberry, the fall foliage is orange and this one is intertwined with a red burning bush. Can you imagine or wait?

Asian lilac comes out a few weeks after the French lilac.

English hawthorn.

First rose, almost open.

Star-of-Bethlehem. another three incher.