White birches are one of those trees that make their best mark in the winter. Against a landscape of grey detritus, they offer a clean and differing diversion to the eye. One of the nicest stands of betula papyrifera is on the way to Boston via I84 in the upper east corner of Connecticut (known as the quiet corner.) For perhaps 10 miles or so, a thick stand of white trees penetrate the forest. A recent trip provided an even more lovely sight as a late March snow coated the ground, creating the illusion that the trees were thin vertical extensions of the latest precipitation.
You know that this isn’t true but also understand that they will soon fade subordinate into the background as the common oaks, maples, dogwoods and other deciduous trees fill in the open spaces. Though that will be true for some areas along this stretch of road, it isn’t for others as the birch is filling in between dead stands of hemlocks that have been ravaged by the woolly adelaide insect. So as the season progresses, the birches with their small, light green leaves will be the life of these grey spaces.
When we first moved to Connecticut over 25 years ago we planted a Himalayan white birch in the back yard. We were hoping to grow our own little grove of these trees to accent the backyard grey of winter. While we believe that Ridgefield is plenty cold, it turns out that it is not cold enough to ensure long life. After a short decade, it died leaving us with a grey space that needed to be filled.
A few years back, I took Charlotte into the woods and we found a small remnant of the birch. The trunk was riddled with insect holes barely being held together by a section of curved white bark. I told Charlotte that the original native Indians inhabiting New England before it was Colonized used the bark to make canoes, containers, and many other things. As we peeled the bark off, she marveled at its softness and feathery-like wisps of wood that curled upward.
"Pompi, can we use this in my fairy house?"
I smiled and agreed. So it sits there still brightening the back yard, against the gray spaces of the season.
