Oak Park Garden Walk, 2008

Oak Park Garden Walk, 2008

Why would anyone grow a plant that could not be eaten? This was a question I asked myself many times tonight as I wondered as I wandered throughout Oak Park on the annual garden walk, led by The Wife, who introduced me to her fancy-pants friends as though I were some kind of dog on a leash, which, truth be told, I was (but it’s a long leash, okay?!).

Basically, this tour involved wandering around other people’s yards, which I usually wouldn’t do in light of day, but there was some cool stuff, like this guy who put his train set out back.



I found a non-edible plant I kind of like; not sure the name, but it’s Japanese and reminded me of a monster I saw in an old Flash Gordon episode that gave me nightmares when I was about 7, so I was strangely drawn to it. Here it is, in both younger and older forms (shots taken at two different locations):





We went to a bunch of places, many of which can be summed up with this shot of a yard with lots of cute bird feeders in it:



Which brings me to this: If you would like to see my video perceptions of the evening, you can email me and I might send you a link to my live, just-shot-tonight-take on this whole experience; if I don’t know you, I may withhold access; no offense intended or implied, and please don’t expect an email explanation (not for younger, more sensitive audiences).

David Hammond wrote:Oak Park Garden Walk, 2008
...snip...

I found a non-edible plant I kind of like; not sure the name, but it’s Japanese and reminded me of a monster I saw in an old Flash Gordon episode that gave me nightmares when I was about 7, so I was strangely drawn to it. Here it is, in both younger and older forms (shots taken at two different locations):



...snip...

It's a Japanese maple, possibly Acer palmatum in a weeping form. The color differences may be because they're different subspecies or cultivars.