Sunday, October 30, 2016

Fall Walk at the IMA

I checked an item off my Indy bucket list today and took a walk through the gardens at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I will definitely have to check back in the Spring and Summer to get the full experience, but there was still plenty to see on this overcast autumn day.

I wish I had brought my Canon T5i with me, but I did the best I could with my iPhone. It doesn't quite capture the coolness of some of these plants and colors I saw. I was also pumped to see that there were planet labels - such a nice courtesy! This garden walk rivals any local arboretum, it's a true gem.

indianapolis ima formal gardens in fall
IMA formal gardens
indy ima gardensindy ima gardens

Cyperus haspan 'Viviparus' dwarf papyrus sedge
Cyperus haspan 'Viviparus' dwarf papyrus sedge

Salvia leucantha 'Cislano' Mexican bush sage
Bright purple and fuzzy to the touch - Salvia leucantha 'Cislano' Mexican bush sage
Monkshood - Aconitum carmichaelii 'Arendsii'
Monkshood - Aconitum carmichaelii 'Arendsii'
Woolly Bear Caterpillar
Woolly Bear Caterpillar
indy island
Art, or a crashed spaceship? It's called Indy Island

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Sidewalk Tree Unveiled: Syringa reticulata Japanese Lilac

After 2+ years living in this development, they added sidewalk trees up and down the street. Anticipating a Bradford pear, I already had plans to swap it out for something else. After a week of spying out the window to see when they would actually put in the tree in front of my house, it finally arrived - and I couldn't tell what it was. I send my friend Mike some photos and he immediately identified it as Syringa reticulata a Japanese lilac tree.

Japanese lilac, that sounds pretty! Well, Mike said it's sort of a boring tree, and that it does have white flowers in spring but that they start dying as soon as they open. At least it's not as brittle as a Bradford pear, so it won't damage cars parked in the driveway or on the street. It's also a little smaller than a Linden, so it might go well with my existing front yard tree - or at least not compete for a number of years.

Let's take a look... Obviously I was out there poking around and taking pics with my iPhone. Such a newsworthy event! Not every day you get a new tree.

japanese lilac twig detail
Twig detail

new sidewalk tree
Placement relative to the other tree in my front yard

japanese lilac bark detailjapanese lilac bud detail


japanese lilac leavesjapanese lilac leaves


japanese lilac dead flowerstrunk damage new tree


mulch base of young tree
Unnecessarily large hole for the root ball - but probably good so the clay gets chopped up

mulch base of young tree
Massive mulch pile around the base
Even thought the tree is likely dormant, I went ahead and slow watered it so the soil around the base would settle and get all the air pockets out. It's also going back up to 80 this week, so if this thing can get a few roots in before winter all the better. We'll see what happens in the Spring!