a tree walk

I met up with a friend in Toronto on Saturday and we joined a crowd of about 80-100 other tree enthusiasts for a guided tour around the arboretum at Mt Pleasant Cemetery

altogether the cemetery spans over 200 acres in a park like setting and has several miles of walking paths interspersed with fountains, statues, gardens, and rare and distinct trees. (as an aside, through the gates you can see the monument a certain Mr Steve Stavros had put up for himself which I posted about here).

there are interesting opening times listed to accommodate the variable dates of the time change

it was a rather dull day - usually good for photographs, but not especially for capturing the brilliance of fall colours.

okay, actually it was cold, the first cold day we've had, with a threat of rain all afternoon, but almost every one of the large crowd stuck with the guided walk for the duration

we learned about some of the many unique, and not so unique, species of trees in the arboretum and why they turn yellow or red and when, and some of their good and bad points. for example, the Norway maple is an invasive, non-indigenous tree that is planted all over Toronto. many love the massive shade it provides, but also lament that no grass will grow under the tree - because of the massive shade. it appears similar to a Sugar maple but one of its distinguishing features is that it is the last maple to change colour. so the one above is definitely not a Norway. 

this distinct maple is a long way from its natural habitat on coastal BC and northern California. 

we know it's a Vine maple as every tree has an identifying tag 

a few trees even have the original wooden tags still hanging on after more than 200 years








and, by the rugged condition of this poor willow, it is quite possible that this is one of the +200 year old trees in the cemetery

sharing this Monday Walk with Restless Jo       and signs, signs