Magnificent Ginkgo

After the Michigan State homecoming game on Saturday, Ed and I walked through the Beale Botanical Garden on our way back from Spartan Stadium to the parking ramp. We spotted this magnificent ginkgo tree in the garden area south of the Music Building. The trees on the Michigan State campus are an absolute treasure and it is a joy to see them on football weekends.

The late, cool spring in Michigan set so many plants back about two weeks. The ginkgo trees that we watch are mostly green yet. Their intense golden green is yet to come.

Ginkgoes have long, spiraling limbs. A major limb will have sprout-like side branches, unlike the long, forking branches of other trees. This tree looks like one of those spider fireworks with branches that pierce the sky.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler