Bark

Italian Plum (Prunus domestica)

I’ve always been fascinated by the bark I see on the trees and shrubs I encounter.  It seems like there are as many types of bark as there are plants.  Lots of variation in color, texture and feel.  Some kinds of bark are frankly boring, while others are so unique you can easily recognize the plant in question just by looking at the trunk.  But most plants are more difficult to ID unless you can see more of the whole plant itself.  

I’m going to be showing photos of selections of bark from the plants in our garden.  I just went out to take photos and got so engrossed I ended up with way too many photos of bark that really isn’t that interesting, but I also came up with some gems.  I know it may be a little odd to show photos of a little piece of a tree, but I really wanted to keep the focus on the bark, not on the plant itself.  I’m just going to list them by name and let you decide what you think of the bark.

Japanese Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticilatta “Wintergreen”)

Dwarf Swamp/Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum “Peve Minaret”)

Weeping Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum “Pendulum”)

Korean Butterfly Maple (Acer tschnoskii ssp “Koreanum”)

Tuscan Blue Rosemary (Rosemarinus officianalis “Tuscan Blue”)

Inverleith Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris “Inverleith)

Lionshead Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum “Shishigashira”)

Pacific Fire Vine Maple (Acer circinatum “Pacific Fire”)

Vanessa Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica “Vanessa”)

Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum “Sango-Kaku”)

Oregon Green Pine (Pinus nigra “Oregon Green”)

Charity Mahonia (Mahonia x media “Charity”)

Waterfall Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum dissectum “Waterfall”)

Radicans Sugi/Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica “Radicans”)

Diana Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi “Diana”)

Howard McMinn Manzanita (Arctostaphyllos densiflora “Howard McMinn”)

Miss Grace Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides “Miss Grace”)

Bloodgood Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum “Bloodgood”)

Elegans Sugi/Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica “Elegans”) 

Little Heath Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub (Pieris japonica “Little Heath”)

Amanogawa Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata “Amanogawa”)

Blue Pfitzer Juniper (Juniperus chinensis “Pfitzeriana Glauca”)

Rasen Sugi/Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica “Rasen”)

That’s it.  Like I said there’s a lot of variety here in our little Nature Sanctuary.  It’s pretty amazing to me to see so many different types of bark in such a small garden.  But then that’s what we’ve tried to do here – show off as many unique plants as we can.  I hope you enjoyed this rather unorthodox display.  Next time you look at some plants be sure to check out their bark.  I think you’ll find much to admire.

Barking madly, as usual,

Steve