Crab apple crazy!

When Bonnie and Henk Van Dyk wrestled shovels into dry sod 17 years ago to transplant 50 skinny, 6-foot crab apple trees, they never knew they were going to create such a stir.

Every spring their driveway glows pink as the trees, now over 20 feet tall, clad themselves with delicate flowers and fill the air with sweet perfume. Neighbors and strangers alike stop along their road to photograph and marvel at the sight of countless blooms blanketing every twig of the centurion flowering crab apple trees.

The hot-pink boulevard fronting the Van Dyk home near New Richmond, Wisconsin, was inspired by many trips the couple made to Europe in the early years of their marriage. "Every garden we saw in France seemed to have a boulevard of trees leading into it," says Bonnie. "We thought -- hey, we can do that at home!"

Variety grows up, not out

Bonnie, a master gardner, picked the centurian crab apple trees over other varieties due to their tendency to grow up rather than out. The centurians get taller in stature as they mature; other varieties of trees tend to spread wider. Also, centurians more closely mirror what the Van Dyks saw in Europe. The centurians are fairly disease resistant but, "They're not any more rabbit and deer resistant than others," says Henk.

The trees will bloom steadily for about two weeks in May, depending on wind and rain conditions.

The trees are a boon to birds. "For a couple of weeks each spring, we have to be careful not to hit robins when driving down the road," says Henk. "The robins flock to the dried apples by the hundreds upon hundreds."

The Van Dyks use photographs of their tree-lined lane with cows on the road as promotional material for their business, Willows-Edge Holsteins, a 90-cow breeding stock dairy farm.

Learn more

Willows-Edge Holsteins

Hendrik and Bonnie Van Dyk
931 140th Avenue
New Richmond, WI 54017-6422

Phone: 715/246-5454