The sound of Linden trees (Tilia americana)

Each year I look forward to the two sounds on our farm. The first is spring peepers – tree frogs in mating season. The second is the sound of Linden trees. We have a good number of Linden trees on our farm. The most prominent stands in our horse field, a robust adult tree about 40 feet tall.

Lindens (also known as Basswood trees in North America) are ornamentals that grow thick foliage and are very good for deep shade. When they flower in the late spring they produce a mass of fragrant flowers. The blooms produce a medicinal herb lime blossom that’s sometimes used in tea and offering nectar that is a favorite of bees.

As you walk toward a blooming linden, you’ll start to notice a low, content humming – it’s the wings of thousands of bees. A blooming linden is covered with so many flowers that it is essentially one gigantic bloom and so is covered with bees of all kinds. That humming, and the thick scent of the blossoms, always gives me the impression that the tree is meditating or welcoming the bees by softly singing to them.