A sad day for our elm tree
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A sad day for our elm tree

Early Saturday morning, before dawn, our Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) suffered a major break from some heavy wind. We’ve had wind like this many times, but there was a weak crotch where two major scaffold branches were growing in too deep of a V-shape. When branches grow with narrow crotch angles, they end up with…

It’s Hibiscus time! And other photos from this evening
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It’s Hibiscus time! And other photos from this evening

  All the Hibiscus shrubs have burst into bloom this week. I love the one above — I think it’s Hibiscus syriacus ‘Aphrodite.’ I also have some double-flowered ones — they’re quite frilly and don’t really look like Hibscuses at all. Oh, and one more of the Aphrodite shrub, too: And I finally got my…

A little bit of paradise and a lot of photos
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A little bit of paradise and a lot of photos

This is the upper part of my backyard today, experimenting with a stitched-together panoramic shot. I also took some other photos of things blooming or looking good in my garden. Too many pictures to comment on right now (it’s late at night!), so I’ll just add them all as a gallery below. What do you…