Specimens, Gates & Blooms

This is a specimen weeping Norway spruce located at Trelan Nursery in Roanoke has been one of my favorites for years. I often quipped to the owners when they wanted to remove it I would be happy to take it off their hands. Specimen trees or shrubs are often the result of mans intervention of mother nature as they are frequently hybrids or grafted plants. The reaction to many specimens typically is people either love them or hate them. This particular spruce is fascinating to me and reminds me of wicked trees that chased kids in the cartoons of my youth. It evokes wonderful imagery. Other specimens would include pom poms, poodle, topiary and assorted dwarf evergreens. Deciduous plants are morphed by breeders also, they are often put on standards (tree forms) like lilacs, viburnums, pea shrubs even cotoneasters but most often deciduous shrubs are bred for bigger flowers, color variation or size changes.


Driving the back roads from our job on Devil's Lake I spotted this iron entrance to a property set back off the road, it gives a different meaning to the term "gated community". The moniker is Ghost Riders Motorcycle Club, note the lantern holding jockeys. This area is not far from where the FBI recently foiled a alleged conspiracy by the Michigan Militia.

This natural tree entrance I photographed on the northeast shore of Coldwater Lake was a bit cowboy for my tastes but fit perfectly at the horse stable it guarded. When we first bought our property there was a lovely livestock gate across the lane it was both inconvenient and ugly but did serve to detract strangers from entry. I have been on the look out for some thing cool to ad at my entrance and preferably something free but so far it remains naked.

Siberian iris are in bloom, their delicate clear blue flowers are bountiful and make a terrific cut flower. The hummingbirds have returned with the installation of feeders and the hanging baskets of dragon wing begonias. It is quite a thrill when they dive bomb your chair as they greedily attack the feeders. Watching the aerobatics between these territorial little beauties is a great way to unwind at the end of the day.

It surprised me to get this picture of these three deer since I had to stick my head out the sunroof of my girlfriends vintage VW bug as we tooled off for breakfast last Sunday morning. They jumped the fence in front of them but that was the picture that got away.