plants
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Springtime in Winter
Over the last week, the warm weather forced unexpected blooms. Roses in Sunset Park.One of half-a-dozen blooming cherry trees noted during a short walk in Green-Wood.The overcast light was definitely wintery, making these blooms look subdued and inducing melancholy in this flower-worshipper instead of the vernal joy of true spring.
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Great Swamp
And so much lichen! The whitish looking parts of these trees are actually lichen in the bright sun. Lichen needs fairly clean air to grow, which is why it is generally — but not completely — absent from NYC.
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Habit
Tulip Trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) are some of the largest trees here in the East. In the woods, they tend to grow up very straight, as in the NYBG example below, shooting up quickly to get the light and not bothering with broadly branching. There are some wonderful examples in the Midwood in Prospect Park and…
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Autumnal Colors
Just a quick reminder that you don’t actually need to leave New York City to see some spectacular colors. Not that there’s anything in the least wrong with heading north or wherever to leaf peep, but sometimes it doesn’t fit your schedule or budget. These are all from Prospect or Green-Wood.
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Old Man Willow And Co.
At some point in its illustrious career, this Weeping Willow lost a bifurcating trunk, leaving a near horizontal gape about four feet up the bole. The slowly rotting remains inside there provided a seedbed for not one, not two, but three saplings: cherry, maple, and mulberry. This is a four-tree tree, which is the most…
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Viburnum Bright
Viburnum trilobum or opulus. Either way, cranberry!
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Master Aster
The wind was making it impossible to focus this perfectly. So it’s a little more abstract, but just as lovely. One of the numerous Asters that make the autumn so exciting to human and pollinator.Another, held firm.These last two pictures may be Smooth Aster. A complicated family.
Backyard and Beyond 