gingko — 2017 — The 21st Century Matriarch

The second group of campers were older…up to 12 years old. Their photoshoot was immediately after the younger group and we decided not to go down the tick infested trail. They wanted to go to the forest but we trekked made a loop into the formal gardens along the way. The sweet gum trees had green fruit (above) and some of the campers took pictures of newly forming pecans. In the formal gardens, there were insects (bees and several kinds of butterflies) to challenge photographic skills.

Everyone enjoyed taking water lily pictures in the pool that is a popular backdrop for weddings at Belmont. One of the gardeners talked to the campers about water lilies closing their blooms at night…and continuing to bloom through the summer…and taking out the underwater parts of the plants during winter to replant next spring.

Then it was off to the forest. The only picture I took was of a millipede…the campers kept me too busy to notice more.

On the hike back to the Nature Center, we stopped the male and female gingko trees near the Belmont caretaker house…and the female tree was loaded with fruit. Fortunately, they were not ripe yet – since I’ve heard they smell awful by the time they drop from the tree.

The Ginkgo Tree near the Brookside Gardens conservatories is full of opening buds. I always try to photograph them because there is a stone bench just below the tree and give me enough height to do some close-up photography of the buds. The tree itself is very tall and slender, fitting into the space beside the intersection of multiple paths.

It is a male tree (no stinky fruit in the fall); the buds include the male flowers and tiny furled leaves. The male flowers always look like small bunches grapes…the leaves like miniature fans. Both look very bright green next to the knobby bark of the tree.