The Devil's Walking Sticks are also blooming now.  There are several on Crabapple Lane, and some on Five Forks Drive too.

 

Its botanical name is Aralia spinosa, and it is commonly called Hercules' Club, Prickly Ash, and Devil's Walking Stick.  If you look closely at the woody trunk you can see how it got that name.  There are big, fat thorns all around the trunk.  

 

It loses its leaves in the fall, and is just a stick all winter.  But in the spring it leafs out again, and now in summer it is blooming.  In a couple weeks, these pretty white flowers will turn to dark red berries.  It is quite striking in all seasons.  Look for it, now that you know what to call it.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!