I'm not sure if this picture works, but it was the best I could get at the time.   Meet Paulownia tomentosa, Princess tree. This particular tree is on the corner of Stonebriar and Crabapple.  Several people have asked me what it is.  Or if those yellow balls are pecans.  They are the fruits of the tree, but not pecans.  I'm not even sure if the squirrels eat them.

 

The best time to spot the princess tree is in spring, when she's blooming.  The purple flowers are about 2 inches, in large clusters.  They are easy to see along the highway, even at 45 mph.  The trees are medium height, usually growing like a weed tree:  wherever its seeds touch down.

 

Right now, though, the tree sports huge heart shaped leaves, and these clusters of yellow nuts.  You can see last year's fruit too;  those clusters are darker, almost black.  And you can see next spring's flower buds in large clusters of velvety-hairy spikes.  

 

Princess tree is not a tree I would plant in my front yard, because it's a little messy, but it is delightful to see in our woods, and along the road.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!