Sunday, May 5, 2019

The Flowering Crabapple Capital of Colorado!


Who doesn't love the few glorious weeks every spring when blossoming trees of all sorts are at their peak? 



Pink crabapple blossoms highlighted by green hills...




...or against bright blue skies...




...lining sidewalks, parks, private home properties.



My town of Littleton, Colorado, is known as the "Flowering Crabapple Capital of Colorado."  with over 7,000 pink crabapple trees along the city's seven-mile crabapple route.  The trees were planted in the early 1970s as part of a city beautification plan spearheaded by the City of Littleton's mayor at the time, Vaughn Gardinier. He convinced the Littleton City Council to appropriate funds to plant the colorful trees along city streets and to encourage homeowners to plant them in yards throughout the city.



This short Youtube video shows some overhead views of the crabapple trees and tells the story of how they were planted some 40 years ago.  

In the 2010s, friends of the crabapples created a tax-exempt not-for-profit fund to allow residents and supporters to donate to the cause of replenishing and adding to the crabapple tree route.  Each year boy scout and civic groups plant more trees, now using a hybrid tree that produces blossoms but little or no fruit.


The trees are now blossoming, and for the next two weeks or so will add their color and beauty to the streets of Littleton. It is always something we look forward to seeing!


Although I live in Littleton, I'm far from the city center in an area closest to the foothills. The foothills have lost their snow cover and have turned green in the past few weeks.  Our area has lots of pine trees lining our streets and an occasional crab apple tree that the deer love in autumn when the apples fall. 



It has been wonderful to be back walking on our neighborhood's private trails...


...and enjoying the beautiful May weather!


I'm looking forward to seeing the new baby fawns that will be born this month. This one was resting in the shade of my front yard last summer. 


I hope you are having a Happy month of May! What signs of spring are you seeing in your area?

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I'm linking this post to the following blog events:

Amaze Me MondayMosaic Monday, All SeasonsBlue Monday,  Through My Lens MondayHeart and Soul Link UpInspiration Monday, Blogging GrandmothersHearth, and Soul Link PartyYou Are the Star Blog HopGood Random FunNature NotesGrand SocialTravel Photos, Photo Tunes, Happiness Is HomemadeSomething Old Is NewTuesday TreasuresOur World TuesdayRuby TuesdayTuesdays With A TwistWordless Wednesday on a TuesdaySay Cheese!,  Party in Your PJ'sWordless WednesdayNanahood WWOh My Heartsie Girl's Wonderful Wednesday, Your Whims WednesdayWorldless Wednesday at Sky GirlWednesday My Corner of the WorldWonderful Wednesday Little Things Thursday,Thankful ThursdayThursday Encouraging Hearts and HomeThursday Favorite Things,  Pretty Pintastic PartyFriendship FridaysFriday Photo JournalSkywatch Friday, Pink SaturdaySaturday CrittersOver the MoonHappiness Is Homemade

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56 comments:

Angie said...

Pat - what an inspiring story! I so admire people that have such an idea that bears fruit (literally) for years. (And I didn't know there is a new species that blooms without producing fruit. Fascinating! Our spring is still slow in arriving - although the hummingbirds are here! Thanks so much for sharing this aspect of your home town with all of us at Mosaic Monday!

Rosie said...

Thanks for the lovely Spring photos, they are so beautiful. We are in Autumn now so not many flowers at the moment and not many of the trees have changed their colours as it has been very dry and very warm.

Rosie said...

Thanks for sharing your lovely Spring pictures. We have had a very dry and warm Autumn here so the flowers from Summer have died off and the trees have not changed colour as much as they normally do in Autumn. Your photos are lovely.

Anonymous said...

The flowering crab apple trees are gorgeous! Such a vivid shade of pink.

riitta k said...

The grapapple project of Littleton is wonderful! I watched the video too and it said there are nearly 7000 grapapple trees - amazing. I wish that some town in Finland had that too, but no. Only some here and there. Enjoy the beautiful spring in your home town.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, gorgeous blossoms. The trees are beautiful. I love the sweet deer. The trail looks great, the view is fabulous! Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Beautiful spring pictures. So much beautiful color. Sweet fawn by the tree.

Vee said...

Beautiful spring post, Pat! Thank you🌷

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Those blossoms are gorgeous. I love it when the whole town gets behind something.
We have our redbuds in Oklahoma that are probably the closest thing. We don’t have a coordinated effort to plant them though. They are native so they just kind of take care of themselves.

Lady Fi said...

Wow! So gorgeous to see the blossoms. And that baby fawn is adorable.

Janice said...

Such a good idea. And now folks are continuing the tradition.

Jennifer Wise said...

I am loving all the blooms around town! I didn't know Littleton had so many. I need to come check that out. LOVELY photos, too! Thanks for sharing at #heartandsoullinkup

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Your photos are so amazingly gorgeous!!

Cristina - Memories of the Pacific said...

So many beautiful blooms! You are lucky to live in such a beautiful place

Ruth Hiebert said...

All those beautiful blossoms must make the city streets a joy to walk along or drive down. We have quite a few in my hometown as well and I love it when they are in bloom.

Jeanie said...

I used to have a crabapple in my yard till a storm took it down. (Now it's a hosta garden!). These are gorgeous!

And I love your fawn. Hopefully many more this season!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

The baby fawn photos are precious! Always so much to look forward to in the Spring. We've had good weather so far but now it's turned hot. I miss being able to hike in the afternoons. Love those blooms you've shared! The colors are gorgeous!

Lydia C. Lee said...

Isn't the deer so sweet!

NCSue said...

The crab apples are lovely in bloom! And what a special treat to see the baby fawn.
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/05/on-retreat-in-washington-dc.htmll

Maggid said...

Super beautiful photos!!!
I'm going out to tell my crab-apple tree all about it.
Thank you!

stevebethere said...

What beautiful pink blossoms I enjoyed your photos ;-)

Have a bloomingtastic week :-)

The Liberty Belle said...

Your photos are very pretty. I especially liked the fawns.

William Kendall said...

The fawns are sweet.

Small City Scenes said...

Oh wow! Those trees are so beautiful. We have a small orchard of regular eating apples and they are blooming now. They are a much lighter pink shade.
The program I used to make the fragmented shot of my Granddaughter and horse is called Super Photo
MB

Michelle said...

Spring colors are like our reward for making it through winter :)

Lorrie said...

The crabapple trees are so lovely and full of colour - much like our cherry trees that bloom in the spring. It's always such a beautiful time of year. Here spring is in full bloom with unusually warm and dry weather that doesn't bode well for the forest fire possibilities in the summer. A little rain would be welcome.
You live in such a beautiful area with all those trails to walk on. I wonder if fawns will visit your garden this year.

stardust said...

The blossoms of the crabapple have ethereally beauty. The road lined with the flowering crabapple is breathtaking. I’d rather walk to look up for some length under the canopy of the flowers than drive through. How adorable the fawn is! I’ll see new fawns in early June at Nara Park.

Yoko

Jemma@athomewithjemma said...

Good Morning!
What a neat post and I enjoyed the behind the scenes story of how it all came to be!
I really do like CrabApple Trees. Growing up in Idaho we had 2 of them that were close to my bedroom window and they were a glorious sight to wake up to. Then when we lived in Texas where we planted two of them in honor of my homestead. Well, here we are in Colorado Springs and I am definitely going to plant some here too!
Your Colorado hometown is very pretty:)
Jemma

Sharon Wagner said...

Glorious blooms! Splendid photos. We haven't started our season yet. Nature at its finest.

Gillena Cox said...

How very very beautiful. Your trees remind me of our Flowering Poui trees, near Eastertime.
Thanks for dropping by my blog

Much💚love

Bill said...

The fawns are gorgeous. Lovely blossoms on the crab trees.
Very nice photos.

Anne Fraser said...

I loved your crab apple trees and watching the video. We have community orchards but we use the apple juice to make cider. I went on a bluebell wood walk yesterday?

Little Wandering Wren said...

I'd be having a happy month of May surrounded by all those crabapple blossoms! I find in my whizzing around the place world, the things that keep me grounded are the references to the seasons elsewhere in the world. You see here in Thailand, it feels like we only have one season hot! I love to see Spring in all her glory around the world. this is a lovely post Pat.
Have a great week.
Wren x

Al said...

Beautiful! Our sign of spring here on the Palmer Divide is more snow on the way this week...

ellen b. said...

Beautiful post, Pat. Loved seeing all these flowering trees!

Tom said...

...crab apples are just beginning here. Enjoy your spring!

betty-NZ said...

These are some fabulous spring blooms! The pinks are stunning.

I am delighted that you chose to join My Corner of the World!

Jutta.K. said...

This is a great post.
Decorated with beautiful pictures and an interesting text.
I really liked it here.
Also, I wonder about the many link parties.
I have to look directly.
Warm greetings from Germany.
My post: Wonderful Dandelion

betty-NZ said...

I'm looking at signs of autumn here in New Zealand but I sure can appreciate your fabulous spring colors and blooms! The fawn is just too cute--how wonderful to have it in your front yard. Wow!

Jill said...

Gorgeous! I've been to Colorado in every other season but never in the Spring. I'm going to have to remedy that!

Lowcarb team member said...

I just love the Spring season.
Wonderful to see all of these blossoms in your photographs.
I can't imagine having a baby fawn in my front garden (yard).
Lovely seeing the photograph of it sitting in yours, so cute and adorable.

Have a wonderful month of May.

All the best Jan

Joanne said...

That is just beautiful! I love all that pink everywhere. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.

Michelle said...

Thank you for linking up this post today. I hope you have a great weekend!

Ciao Chow Linda said...

Your photos are just stunning, Pat. You could have a career as a photographer. I love seeing those beautiful spring blossoms and am sad when they all come cascading down to the ground.

French Ethereal said...

How exciting to have deer just come and relax in your yard... Must be heavenly! I'd love to see all the crabapple trees blooming ~ thank you for sharing!!!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day, Pat,
Hugs,
Barb :)

Rambling Woods said...

How pretty and cheery and a great idea to plant to encourage others...Michelle

Minoru Saito said...

Hi! Your photos are very beautiful. The color of sky is very cool too. Thanks for sharing.

Maria Rodrigues said...

When spring comes, everything is color and beauty.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos.
Maria
Divagar Sobre Tudo um Pouco

Dee | GrammysGrid.com said...

Love the pics Pat, very pleasing to the eyes ♥

Louca por porcelana said...

Stunning pictures!

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Beautiful blossoms! I remember well the crab apple tree in my grandparents front yard. Although they passed years ago, I think that tree is still there.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Beautiful Colorado Spring! Those trees are wonderful. What a great idea for a city project. I’m so glad you’re back to walking those wonderful trails ... both that the weather *and* your foot are all better!

April J Harris said...

What gorgeous photos, Pat! How lovely to live so very close to nature, in such beautiful surroundings. Thank you for sharing it all with us! I'm so grateful you shared this lovely post with the Hearth and Soul Link Party. I’m featuring this post at the party this week. Hope to ‘see’ you there! Have a wonderful week ahead!

Joyful said...

Stunning photos as always. Have a wonderful week ahead.

Beverly said...

Absolutely gorgeous, Pat. Happy Pink Saturday. You are always so good to share your incredible experiences with us.

This post is being featured on my Pink Saturday post this week as "the one with the most clicks".♥

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Those crabapples are certainly glorious! I love the color. What foresight Mr. Gardinier had to get that started. Truly lovely. I really enjoy your wonderful posts.