Artichoke

The bees were very happy that no one harvested the artichokes.

 

Plant sculptures

Not just plants at the arboretum.

 

Empty arbor

It looked new.  Fresh wood and no vines yet.  

 

Agave

It looked like something Georgia O'Keefe would love.

 

Weather vane?

I'm not sure of it's a weather vane or a decoration.

It sits on top of this cute little building.  Which turns out to be the restrooms at the arboretum.  Oh well.

 

Benches

On a hot day, a bench in the shade is welcome.

The arboretum has plenty of places to contemplate and rest.

 

Center

When I stare at this plant I begin to feel like I'm sliding into its center.

 

Unnatural tree

Walking through the arboretum, you will come upon sculptures that slip easily into the scenery.  

At first glance, it's another tree in the arboretum.  With a second look you can see a carefully designed sculpture.  

 

Zinnia

This zinnia reminds me of fireworks on the fourth of July.

 

Grand Entrance

Lions guard the gate to the Japanese gardens at JC Raulston Arboretum. 

They look pretty fierce.

 

Mocking

First we heard a cardinal's song, then a towhee, a robin and a chickadee.  Looking around we found him - a mocking bird calling to all his friends.

 

Inside looking out

The view from inside the Lathe house at the J C Raulston Arboretum.

 

Patterns

The agave above and the yucca below look like mathematical patterns.  I'll bet if you could count each spiral it would match the Fibonacci series. 

0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,...

Anyone want to count?

 

Grandfather Crepe Myrtle

This Japanese Crepe Myrtle is one of the first ever planted outside of Japan.  It was planted in the 1950's.

 

More Butterflies

Monarch

Black swallowtail

 

All of a sudden, butterflies

Walking through the arboretum, we saw a lot of bees and flowers.

But no butterflies.  When we came to the native plant section, the butterflies were everywhere.

 

Alien?

As the bud of this hydrangea opened it looked like some kind of alien with slitted eyes and a big jaw.

The opened flowers were a bit other worldly too.

 

Agave

I was looking for plants to show off the wall behind.  But this agave is beautiful all on its own.  I liked the shape.

 

Weathered

I really liked the weathered wooden wall.  

 

Garden visitor

Walking through the arboretum we spied this little guy chomping on the plants.  Do they know they have a hungry visitor eating the displays?