It’s in the details

I was a young boy when my grandfather passed away. My grandfather was a simple man with few possessions. As my family went through the process of deciding what to keep and what to pass along, I ran across his magnifying glass. Nothing like the quality that I’m sure Sherlock Holmes would have used, but a smaller, more modest version of the instrument. My parents trusted me with that item and it remains useful to me today.

In my excitement for the arrival of spring, and the fact that we had an absolutely beautiful weekend, I decided it was time to grab my trusty old friend and see what developments I might find in my garden. As it turns out, Mr. Smith, my photographer friend at Iseli had the same inclination early this week, and I have decided to dedicate this blog post to some of his macro photography showing the amazing details that can be found in the conifer garden.

The fascinating foliage of Abies koreana ‘Ice Breaker’ is very striking, but the buds remain quite tight. We’ll check back in on this one later.

The soft-yellow foliage of Abies pinsapo ‘Aurea’ is becoming highlighted with the brightly colored pollen cones. The seed cones are currently much smaller, appearing as tiny slender buds at this time.

This Korean/Japanese maple hybrid, Acer x pseudosieboldianum ‘Arctic Jade’, is a hardy new introduction. Its fuzzy, delicate new foliage and tiny red flowers are just beginning to emerge.

Picea glauca ‘Pixie Dust’ is just beginning to break bud. Its first flush of tiny foliage will be bright green and harden to a darker color, followed in a few months by a second foliar push bringing the golden cream color we wait for each year.

Finally, we present Picea pungens ‘St. Mary’s Broom’. Its expanding buds take on the appearance of tiny rosebuds. Perhaps this is what the Gnomes wear on their lapels, since a real rose would be far too large.

Grab your favorite magnifying device and have a look around your garden. You might just be surprised at what you will discover.

Ed-
Conifer Lover