Campus Hodge Podge

I'm still mourning the possible loss of my camera (so excuse the phone pictures), but that isn't stopping me from photographing the best in plants from around campus! Today I have a particularly eclectic collection to show off. The weather is super nice (as in, sweaty nice), so things are starting to liven up in the realm of flora.

The first plants I noticed were these white-flowering bushes. I'm not sure what kind of bushes these are, but they smell amazing. That's one of the great things about plants: they please at least four of the five senses, if you don't count the sound of tree limbs trembling in the wind, which I do.

Also, the flowers on these bushes are adorable. So sweet and innocent-looking.

Next I saw what I believe was a flowering Japanese maple outside my dorm. I couldn't get close enough to the foliage and flowers from the ground, so I took these shots from the inside of a window.

I think the image of the leaves coming out over the dangling flowers is a great one for this time of year. I've seen it in many kinds of trees around town.

This tulip bed was outside the clinic. The clinic's pretty close to the hospital, which has the really impressive tulip display. They have hot pinks, reds, purples, oranges--you name it, basically. This bed only had red and yellow, but tulips are adamant about being upbeat no matter their color.

Oh hi, thumb!

There were only two red tulips in this area, but they were my favorite of the bunch. Here's the better-looking one of them.

What flowers are intriguing you this week? What colors of tulips have you seen?

Next post: a plant list.

More Flowering Trees + Bulbs!

Today I bring you more blooms from my redbud walk the other day, though none of these include redbuds.

First is a clump of anyonymous trees with fluffy white blooms. These are not as sophisticated as the magnolia flowers in my previous posts, but they're still pretty heavenly on the eyes.

Some closer views:

The new growth on these trees, as you can probably see, is a rusty red color. I think that complements the white-green flowers perfectly.

Next is a spring bulb I can't identify. It doesn't look like a daffodil, hyacinth, tulip, or crocus, and that's about the scope of my knowledge on the topic. However, they are nice little flowers, though this particular plant does not seem to have bloomed very prolifically.

This picture is more detailed.

Finally, something I can identify! This tulip, partially because it is so oddly isolated, really catches the eye. If this was anywhere near a road, it would be a driving hazard.

I don't guess I've ever looked inside a tulip before. For those of you in the same unfortunate situation, here's what it looks like!

And this is a more traditional view.

That's all from this mid-April flower walk. What do you think is the ideal way to fit a striking plant (like a tulip) into a landscape? Do you enjoy seeing flowers from new perspectives? What are your favorite spring-flowering trees?

Next post: the Spring 2013 Vegetable Sale (Part 1)!