A New Geranium

 
Here is a pink geranium of a different kind that someone gave me last year. The buds are kinda funky!

	See Rock Garden Purple - Part II
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White Trees- Part II

 


I have several friends who keep looking at trees with light trunks and calling them white birch when they are really quaking aspen. Do you have trouble telling them apart, too? The picture above is of quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides. But those trunks sure look white, don't they?

Here is a clump of quaking aspen with one white birch mixed in. Can you tell which one?



I know, that was hard! The white birch is the one on the left. You can't even see the trunks very well, there is so much foliage. Here is a closer view of the leaves.



Now you can begin to see some of the difference. Notice how the leaves on the left are a little bit lighter green and more finely cut? Now you are getting really observant! Finally, here's a closeup. Notice that the birch leaves are narrower, and hang down while the aspen leaves seem to be going every which way. The aspen are darker green too!



What white trees have you seen lately?

	See White Trees- Part III
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White Trees- Part I

 



Here's a tree that can become an invasive pest, but doesn't seem to spread too much here. It's White Aspen, Populus alba It's a native of Eurasia. I think it's really attractive in the spring because then the leaves are really white. Notice on the back right it is becoming mostly green? Just the undersides of the leaves will be white in the summer.

But right now, look how white they are!

	See The Blindness of Familiarity for another white tree
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Salmon

 


While I'm gone I'm going to show you some of the nice flowers in my gardens. Not that they are getting much weeding this year, but there are some pretty spots anyway.

This is a salmon-colored oriental poppy from my hiking friend, Marie. She is totally jealous because she bought one for each of us, but hers died. Mine has to get bigger before it can be split, but this year it will have two blossoms. Only one is open now though.

	See The Moles Missed This One See Rock Garden Remnants
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New Digs for Peabody's Great, Great, Great., Great..... etc

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away... oh wait, it only seems that long ago... we had a pet 13-lined ground squirrel. Can you find his offspring in the picture? Let me help you...



"What?" You ask. "It's just a chipmunk." Well, no it's not. These critters are a little bit bigger, have a pattern of, um... 13 lines on their backs, and have skinnier tails. I'll try to get a better picture sometime this summer.

Today's excitement was the enlargement of one of the apartment houses. Not an improvement of our "lawn." But I'm sure Peabody, Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. is happier. Maggie chased him down this same hole yesterday, and almost caught him!



I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to do a program and then a 45-mile hike. I'm scheduling posts with things around the gardens and trees while I'm gone. See you Thursday night or Friday!

See Rationalization or Reality? and a Flat-top Joke for more about the lawn