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This is a relatively newly planted redbud tree in the new park six blocks from my home. Greenview park is small park and tucked in the middle of a residential area of homes, townhomes and condos. Here's some info on redbuds since they are only native to North America. From Wikipedia: "Cercis Canadensis (eastern redbud) is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, native to eastern North America from Southern Ontario, Canada south to northern Florida but can thrive as far west as California. In the United States, this tree is difficult to grow further west into arid areas west of western Kansas and Colorado, as there is not sufficient annual precipitation. Its far northern range of growth is the lower Midwest, Ohio Valley, to the south of Boston". According to the map on this info page it's not supposed to grow farther north in Illinois than the central part of the state. However they thrive here in Northern Illinois and up into Wisconsin and Michigan as well. They are blooming quite late this year due to the cold as frequently they are among the earliest of bloomers along with the forsythia and daffodils.