A Budding Hobby: Ode to Buds

I've been keeping a watchful eye on tree buds in my yard lately, tapping my toe and waiting impatiently for leaves to show. I thought I'd use this blog post to document some of the changes I've noticed. So here's the bud news roundup!

Linden tree buds in the front yard - I managed to track down the exact same bud for a before and after photo

First up, the young Japanese maple [Acer palmatum] next to my front door (dark green with some purple leaves but not sure what kind). When 3/4 of the leaves dried up last summer I pulled them off because I read that Japanese maples have a second set of leaves they can put out. While I saw the buds beneath the first set of leaves, they never opened.

 I'm pretty sure my over-watering and the direct midday sun are what caused this. Hopefully if it comes back it learns to work with the stark contrast in light.

When I removed the dried up leaves, I saw these little buds beneath where the leaves attached

I figured this tree was a total gonner, until I saw these new signs of life. Tiny buds (some extremely tiny) forming where none were before. Will this tree come back to life? Will it adapt to its mix of direct sun followed by complete shade on the north side of the house?

Ok, so these tiny Japanese maple buds aren't all that exciting to look at - but the fact that this tree isn't completely dead is pretty neat.

Linden [Tilia cordata] in the front yard busting out! My dad says Linden buds look like boxing gloves

River birch [Betula nigra] leaves emerging today, April 18