Jack thinks trees are more interesting to look at during winter than in summer.

Here’s his explanation:

Amid the seemingly endless grey of winter here in Michigan, trees are even more interesting to look at. Their architecture is not hidden by their leaves. You can clearly see all of the twists and turns and nobs and habitat within the tree.

This makes winter an awesome time to familiarize yourself with your own trees. Understanding what your tree normally looks like informs the future. Winter is also a time to study other trees too. Look across the street, can you tell what kind of trees your neighbor has?

Patterns

There are plenty of ways to identify trees without their leaves. Patterns in tree architecture is one of them. Recognizing tree crown patterns is a perspective unique to arborists.

There are patterns and tendencies that certain species develop that others don’t. But there is no cheat code, you have to go out and look at trees in detail.

Identifying trees adds a layer of rich depth to our background. You should know what trees you live amongst, ya know? We think it’s pretty cool.

Here are some examples of trees with characteristic architecture for their species:

Look Up!

It’s going to be warm this week. So next time you’re outside, look up. Give the trees a moment. Survey your neighborhood, especially when the sky isn’t too bright like at dawn or dusk. Try to describe the trees you see in words. Here are some tree-specific words you can use to broadly describe a tree’s form:

Decurrent
Trees with wide and spreading crowns, often with multiple large trunks. Examples could be an oak tree or honeylocust tree.

Excurrent
Trees with single trunks that stay fairly upright, without spreading all that much. Think pine trees or sassafras trees.

Take things a step further. What more descriptors can you add? Are the branches mostly straight? Or are they curvy? How’s the bark texture look? Does it vary as you look higher in the tree?

Acknowledge the Giants

Knowing the trees you live around acknowledges their presence. Curing your “plant blindness” totally changes the way you see the world. To be honest, I wish I could go back to the time right when mine was cured.

My own neighborhood suddenly became a totally different place. Discovering things that were in my sight all along, surrounded by unique and living forms: Remnants of the forest that used to be here. Such an awesome feeling, literally.

I think you can experience this too. You just have to start. Wonder and appreciation are powerful distractions from winter’s cold.