Victoria Genberg

Birch trees are beautiful. In winter their silvery white bark glows in the moonlight. Come spring, the budding leaves offer a tender green, while in summer they sparkle in the sunlight like diamonds. In autumn the leaves turn a luminous yellow before falling to the ground leaving the branches stark...

Birch trees are beautiful. In winter their silvery white bark glows in the moonlight. Come spring, the budding leaves offer a tender green, while in summer they sparkle in the sunlight like diamonds. In autumn the leaves turn a luminous yellow before falling to the ground leaving the branches stark against the blue sky.

For reasons not entirely clear to me, I feel a powerful resonance in the presence of birch trees. Perhaps it's an unconscious awareness of their symbolism. They represent one who never stops wondering, whose childlike imagination seeks something beyond the ordinary world and looks for new adventures, and thus heralds new beginnings of the mind, body and soul.

As a pioneer species, they are capable of colonizing damaged or destroyed ecosystems. In spite of their delicate silhouette, they are strong and resilient. They symbolize new beginnings, growth, and renewal.