While I Was Working

Some weeks I never know what I'm going to get when I look through the pictures I have randomly snapped while doing other tasks.  Makes for some random blogs, like this one...

I think my favorite "wow" moment this week was today when I was intently destroying all large weeds in my path with the string trimmer.  Gradually I realized the tree I was approaching had the largest leaves I had ever seen.  I had never noticed this particular tree before because it is tucked away in a corner of the arboretum where I seldom go.  I stared at it for a while, before the whirring of the string trimmer brought me back to the task at hand. As soon as I was done, I had to find the camera.

The fruits are starting to turn red, and are quite a handful.

Look at how big that leaf is! It is as long as my arm from shoulder to fingers!  A little research and some tips from my boss helped me learn the identity of this large leafed magnolia.  I think this is Magnolia tripetala, also known as umbrella magnolia.  Unfortunately, I also learned the flowers are pollinated by flies, which means they smell really bad.  I'm not sad I missed seeing it bloom.  Probably a good thing this tree is tucked into a forgotten corner.

Now for much smaller, but not any less random, things I came across that interrupted the mundane.

Meadows in bloom

Deliciously fragrant Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice'

Coreopsis

White begonia

Bergenia

Impatiens

Japanese anemone

Beautiful variegated perennials: ginger, painted ferns, lungwort

The occasional slightly pretty weed, that I photograph before obliterating it...

Toad lily

I also noticed the seven-son flowers are starting to open up, so I am hoping I can catch those at their peak. There is always something to see at Welkinweir.

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