Mimosa Tree

Today’s WordPress one-word daily prompt is: Tree

If I had to name my favorite tree, I would have to say it is the Mimosa tree.  We had a few in both the front and the backyard of the home I grew up in.  I loved everything about them…. their odd-looking fan-like tropical looking leaves, their hot pink fluffy and very fragrant blossoms (they always smelled like peaches to me), the butterflies and hummingbirds they attracted, and the fact that they just about always made good climbing trees (for a young girl who loved to climb trees). I loved the way the leaves would fold up at night and when it rained.  They supplied plenty of shade on hot summer days.

Photo credit: www.starbros.com

I’ve decided people either love mimosa trees or they hate them.  My dad didn’t care for them at all.  He always said they were a nuisance and it was just about impossible to get rid of them once you have them.  That was probably due to a little girl who loved to open up the seed pods and then toss them to the ground.  He was always cutting them down which made me sad, but this always caused little mimosa sprouts to pop up everywhere too, so it seemed he never could really get totally free of them.  They thrive in the hot and humid southern U.S. and they are drought resistant so are very hardy trees.

I have fond memories of a rather large mimosa tree that grew in our backyard.  My friend Debbie and I used to climb that tree with our pile of library books, stash ourselves in the fork of a sturdy branch and sit up there and read for what seemed like hours.  I guess the neighbors thought we were crazy but I can still remember the fragrant breeze and feeling the sway of the branches in the wind.  My sisters and our neighborhood friends used to play “pioneers” and we’d use the Mimosa seed pods to make “green beans” and “salads.”  We’d also make mud pies and decorate the pies with the colorful mimosa blossoms. Another friend and I used to throw blankets over a lower horizontal branch and make a homemade tent. We’d spread plastic on the ground and camp out all night long under that old tree and the peachy fragrance, which seemed to grow stronger in the evenings, was just heavenly.

I loved that Mimosa tree. I miss that ole tree. It’s been gone for many years now and a tall sturdy silver maple tree stands in its place.

Gail ♥