Bonsai and More

 I have been hyperbolic about the trees since I arrived in North Carolina.  Now, that we have arrived in Asheville, centered in the mountains of the state, the evergreen family have joined the hardwoods.  I will confess it's very hard to accept these rounded hills as mountains after having spent time in the Rocky Mountains.  The folks in Fraser and even Colorado Springs would laugh to hear these little mounds of about 2100 feet (elevation of Asheville) classed as mountains.  In North Carolina's defense, there is a 6,684 foot mountain (Mount Mitchell) in the Black Mountains - about 35 miles from Asheville.  Mount Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi, and even Coloradans can't sneer at an almost 7,000 foot mountain.  

Meanwhile, back to the trees.  Aside:  There's a balsam forest on Mount Mitchell.  I mean who has ever seen a balsam tree?  I can hardly wait to see those!  I only know that wood from those cheesy airplanes which were GUARANTEED to fly.  You had to assemble them, and if you got the upscale kitc, it included a rubber band for some mysterious purpose.  They usually cost about $.50, which was cheap enough, so you could persuade your mother you desperately needed one since you'd been so good on the shopping trip.  90% of the time the assembled 'plane' landed on the roof of the house the first time you tried to 'fly' it.  

Having been enraptured by the trees since I arrived here, my first real outing in Asheville was to the North Carolina Arboretum (tree museum).  It was wonderful.  I put names to many plants and trees which I had been seeing in the area.  This arboretum is a combination of gardens and trees.  The point of pride of the Arboretum is their extensive bonsai collection.  If you think I'm wild for big trees, then I'm over the top for little trees.  Brooklyn's Prospect Park has a small collection they keep sheltered in a glass greenhouse, but this North Carolina collection was founded and nurtured by:

Here is my favorite bonsai (hard to choose from so many):

This bonsai is entitled "40 acre rock" and has a miniature Juniper and a miniature boxwood planted atop the rock.  Picturing the tree in a setting makes the bonsai an even bigger marvel in my opinion.

There were so many trees and flowers (regular sized) it was hard to pick favorites.  That said, here are the two items which really did it for me.  First, a holly tree which will sprout Christmas red berries in the winter.  Hollies are evergreens, and new leaves push the old ones off during the spring like Live Oak trees.  The flower that stunned me, and I smelled it before I saw it, was a star lily growing!  Here are my pix of these two:

The holly tree - 25' tall next to an elm 
which towered over it.

Star Lily - wonderful smell & in the area of stuff 
which is supposed to grow great here

As always, I took a bunch of pictures.  See all the different varieties of bonsai.

Just click on the link.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SVeFE8znjqVcfKsT6