by Jena Copley
My grandparents have always been two of my favorite people in this world. My clearest childhood memories are from their house with all my cousins. We would spend hours making up games and running around the yard. But now, because we are all growing up and my grandparents are older, they finally decided to sell their house. We will keep the memories made in my grandparent’s house, but there are some things that we couldn’t bring with us. Particularly, seven trees.
My grandparents started a tradition that they would celebrate the birth of a new grandchild by planting a tree that would flower or the leaves would change color during that child’s birth month. When my grandparents moved, they left behind at the old house a crab apple (blooms in early April), a yellow wood (bright flowers into June), a pear tree (white flowers in May), a purple-leaf plum (striking leaves in July), a star magnolia (eye-catching flowers in May), a crimson maple (bright red leaves in November), and a sugar maple (wonderful yellow and orange leaves in October). Recently, in part because of a college Botany course, I started thinking about those trees, but I could not even remember what type of tree my grandparents had planted for me.
I asked my grandparents about our trees and they remembered every single one.
My grandma has been going through a lot of pictures and most years she would take a picture of us standing by our tree on our birthday. When I first saw the pictures, I was in shock.
I remembered my tree as this little thing with thin branches growing just above my head, but the pictures showed otherwise. Seeing the tree towering over me, both of us growing together was nostalgic. I now realize that when you're younger you don’t notice or remember the little things as much as you do when you get older.
Our Trees:
April 1997, crabapple
Alex was born right when the crabapples blossom. When the first Copley grandchild came into the world, the world definitely was not ready for him. This troublemaker always ‘jumped’ before thinking. Alex was constantly covered in scrapes and bruises from whatever mischief he had gotten into and he caused a ruckus wherever he went. He loves to test limits and be a part of a good story. We all look up to him as the cool older cousin, and fittingly, his tree usually blooms the earliest of all of our trees.
June 1997, yellow wood
May 1999, ornamental pear
Personally, I feel the most important grandchild was born next: me. As the third grandchild behind two very big personalities, I have always been the quiet one. As a kid I would watch and follow whatever the older kids did. Today I am still the quiet one, but I do like to cause trouble. I play tricks and make jokes, but never for the attention. My aversion to attention is quite the opposite of the large ornamental pear tree that represents my birth.
July 1999, purple-leaf plum
Shortly after my birth, the third girl in the Copley family, Eden, was born. She and I have always been great friends. She loves to make everyone happy and is very go-with-the-flow. With an older brother like Alex, she has been the more timid one of the two, but you can always count on Eden. With such a serene color, the purple-leaf plum is the perfect tree to represent her.
May 2002, star magnolia
Once again, havoc was brought upon the family, with the birth of my little brother, Craig. No one was prepared for the big personality that came in such a small body. Craig was called the “drama king” growing up, and he always kept everyone on their toes. He has a huge heart and cares a lot, but as the youngest of three, he sure loves to be the star of the show. A star magnolia was planted for his birth, and it does him perfect justice.
November 2005, crimson maple
Jack was born. The youngest boy of the cousins and probably the most talented. We all have our talents, but Jack seems to have them all. He has always been smart and athletic and has even learned multiple instruments. When he is older there is no doubt he will be a huge success. The crimson maple planted for his birth will grow just as big as he will be.
October 2007, sugar maple
The final Copley cousin was born, Kate. She is definitely the youngest child, you can’t help but baby her. She is too smart for her age and will show you exactly how smart she is with her witty comebacks. Kate has a big personality and loves to make friends with anyone she meets. The sugar maple planted for Kate shows off her sweet, big personality and the tree’s leaves change a beautiful golden color during her birth month.
Today: As time goes on many things have changed. Our generation has endured many changes to the environment, and so have our trees. Climate change has impacted our trees in ways we may not have noticed. Alex’s crabapple tree’s leaves could have been turning redder due to lower temperatures. The black vine weevils could be coming out earlier with the early bloom of Madison’s yellow-wood tree. Earlier blooms of Eden’s purple-leaf plum could have promoted larger fruits. Late budding could have led to damage to the leaves of Kate’s sugar maple.
As a developing scientist, I am starting to understand the importance of noticing the small things. In today’s world, the changing phenology of plants can tell us a lot about the impacts of climate change. By researching the habit and phenology of our seven trees I have begun to wonder how they may have changed since being planted. All seven of us cousins have such different traits, and we have all grown and changed so much through the years. I believe our trees and their changing phenology are the perfect metaphor. Whether a scientist or a granddaughter, I will start to pay more attention to the little things, because they are worth it.
Jena is an undergraduate student at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio where she is studying Biology. She has a big family and a great passion for the outdoors. She spends most of her time learning, thrill seeking, and having fun with friends and family.
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