U of A Campus Tree Tour

The weather was beautiful yesterday and perfect for a walk around campus.  Admittedly, it was a little rushed as Wayne (of Landscape Services) tried to show us all the interesting trees on campus along with new landscape features. 

We didn't make it. 

(Right: Two of my co-workers also on the tour.)

But we did see (and touch) the cork tree located between Triffo Hall and Cameron Library (below). 

And the Ginkgo biloba (one of three) gifted from Japan, in the "Education Quad" (below right). 

Wayne told us these trees and some others on the tour are not actually hardy to zone 3, but the buildings release heat and provide shelter creating good micro-climates. 

This gets me thinking / day dreaming a bit of what I could potentially grow... if I created a micro-climate.  But I stuck to something a little more realistic, asking at the end of the tour for some advice about our "problem" trees. 

The water features were also impressive.  I thought I had stumbled on all of them by now, but there were more.  And picnic benches nearby make almost every one of them a nice place to pause and sit.  I should really get out of the office more. 

The "Education Quad's" waterfall incorporated the cube-y sculpture that had been there for years. The two combined feel a little sci-fi and surreal.  It would have been a cool place for some of our wedding photos.