White Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)
The White Fringe Tree, Chionanthus virginicus, is a true show-stopper in native North American forests. When it is in bloom in the early spring its delicate, cascading blooms fill the air with the most pleasant mildly sweet fragrance you can imagine. These blooms ultimately turn into small purple fruits which are not edible for humans, but are particularly attractive to birds. With a maximum height of about thirty feet or so and a spread that is often similar, this isn’t the most imposing tree, but its stature belies its graceful beauty. Other common names for this plant include grancy graybeard and, simply fringetree. Of note is that this tree can serve as an alternate host for emerald ash borer.
Jeni Elaine Munn
This White Fringe Tree, Chionanthus virginicus, was chosen and underwritten by Kirk Davis Nursery in dedication to the memory of Jeni Elaine Munn, a respected and well known design-build landscape contractor, who served her clients here within the greater Charlotte area, and elsewhere, until her untimely death in February, 2021.
Receiving her degree in Biology at the University of Sussex, Brighton, she worked first in bio-research at Sloan-Kettering Memorial Hospital in New York City before moving to Los Angeles and starting a second career in television and film production. Always an avid gardener anywhere she lived, Jeni founded her business, Rosewood Garden Designs, shortly after relocating to Charlotte from Los Angeles in 1999, launching herself upon arrival in the direction of her passion, designing and constructing gardens that combined the English style with American practicality.
Her specialties included perennial borders and seasonal planters, but she also thrived as a general landscape contractor, excelling in the construction of hardscape elements as well as green…pools, terraces, water features, and entertainment areas and structures.
When not growing and managing her business, Jeni joyously pursued another of her passions…Ballroom Dancing… performing, and winning, in both national and international competitions.
Jeni’s desire to Learn and to Improve…as a contractor, as an employer, as a competitive dancer, as a human being…and the bravery, determination, and grace she displayed in dealing with, and surviving, Ovarian Cancer and subsequent recurrences over the course of 9 years are, and will remain, an unforgettable inspiration to those who knew her, who worked with her, who learned from her, and who loved her.
