April: UIC Memorial Grove

I left my camera at my office all week, which means no pictures of my daffodils or tulips, and I know you're all upset but you'll just have to wait!
What I do have is pictures of the Memorial Grove on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. It's not clear what it's a memorial to; perhaps to the two ethnic neighborhoods that were bulldozed to build the campus in the early 1960s. On a campus designed to reflect the stark rectilinear shapes and traffic flow of the downtown and expressways nearby, the Memorial Grove is a pleasantly organic space.




Staircases at SEO


Magnolia


Fagus sylvatica, European beech, I think a copper beech. A tree with wonderful bones but I still favor the American beech, which sadly is rarely planted ornamentally.


Tie-in with my dissertation project: Tilia (basswood) that has been well-loved by sapsuckers.


This fine example of absurdist topiary (I believe it's an oak) is pointing at the Science and Engineering Lab building. If you put on your x-ray specs you will see my lab!