Here’s a few pics I’ve taken recently of some cool-looking tree trunks. The first was taken at Green Spring Gardens in Annandale, VA, one of my favorite garden haunts. They have a few mature crape myrtles in front of the visitor center there with the prettiest cinnamon-brown bark you’ve ever seen. It helps that the folks there know how to prune crape myrtles; it really makes a difference in showing off the smooth bark. With its coloring and muscle-like texture, the tree trunk reminds me of the flank of a thoroughbred racehorse. I believe this is cultivar ‘Biloxi’.
Crape Myrtle 'Biloxi'
Here’s an ancient Osage Orange tree at Oatlands plantation out in western Loudoun County. Looks like it belongs in a Grimms Fairy Tale, doesn’t it? Hansel and Gretel will be along any minute.
The last one was taken at Oatlands, too. It’s a great Shagbark Hickory specimen. You gotta love the peeling bark, although I wonder if I had one of these, if I could stop myself from peeling big strips of it off. It would be awfully tempting.
Shagbark Hickory
