Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Contemplative Conifers..., 1 by ViburnumValley

ViburnumValley wrote:
...in Cincinnati.

Established almost 170 years ago, Spring Grove Cemetery has a long tradition of significant and well-kept plantings. An early example of the rural landscape cemetery style in the Ohio River valley region, Spring Grove is not only a serene final resting place for generations, but it is also an assemblage of fine architecture in its monuments and mausoleums, and an educational collection of trees and shrubs recognized with arboretum status.

I took a walk there Thursday.

It is still a little early for much color after this long cold winter, and few deciduous plants were showing any signs of emergence. The conifers, however, were holding court in their stately and always elegant manner.

1. One Calocedrus decurrens stands defiantly upon a hilltop, with half of one of its former full-sized mates to the left. A long-time third partner perished in 2008 due to the remnants of Hurricane Ike.

2. A newer member of the tribe, this is a Picea koyamae recently transplanted from the cemetery's nursery.

3. Cunninghamia lanceolata var. glauca has gutted it out through a demanding winter - somewhat browned, but never downed.

4. Despite the gray day, Pinus bungeana displays its colorful patchwork of flaking bark - this one at the burial site of famed conifer enthusiast Stanley Rowe.

5. The trunk of a pendulous Pinus sylvestris stretches toward the heavens.