Wasps in Preserve

Wasp nest in Preserve 2025

Pink dot is this year, green arrows are 2024.

Bald-faced hornets are gigantic and fearsome.

Bald-faced Hornets are native to North America. The entire colony, including the old queen and all the workers, dies off in late fall and early winter due to freezing temperatures and old age, except for the new, fertilized queens. These new queens find sheltered locations to hibernate, and each one starts a new colony from scratch the following spring.  

 

Oaks and Acorns in the Preserve

Very few acorns on the trees.

One small group on the path that I put together.

 

Trees in Ovation

 Blue Arrow Rocky Mountain Juniper

In neighborhood by villages.

Blue Arrow Juniper, expect a show-stopping addition to your landscape. As it matures, the columnar form and striking blue-green foliage will provide an elegant backdrop to your garden, adding height, texture, and color year-round. This low-maintenance and resilient juniper will endure the seasons with grace, enhancing the beauty of your outdoor space for years to come. Moderate growth rate, typically growing 6-12 inches per year. Reaches a mature height of 12-15 feet tall and a spread of 2-3 feet wide.

Ash Trees

Ash tree leaves are pinnately compound (made of multiple leaflets arranged on a central stem), typically with 5-11 opposite leaflets that have serrated edges and pointed tips. The leaves have a characteristic glossy green surface that turns yellow to maroon or deep purple in the fall, and a lighter underside. An easy way to identify an ash tree is to check for its opposite branching, where branches grow directly across from each other, unlike most other trees.  

Pine - Blue

McAllister Park Plants

Cormus domestica is the scientific name for the Service Tree, also known as the Sorb Tree or True Service Tree. It is a species of tree native to Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, known for its edible, though initially astringent, fruit that sweetens when overripe (bletted). The tree's hard, dense wood is also valued for its use in tools and instruments. The fall color for Cormus domestica (Service Tree) is generally a display of yellow, orange, and sometimes red leaves, providing a brilliant display in autumn. The specific hues can vary, with some sources noting rich yellow to orange-red colors for this deciduous tree.

Straw Flower

Helichrysum arenarium, also known as the Dwarf Everlast or Sandy Everlasting, is a perennial plant native to Europe and Central Asia, recognized for its golden-yellow, everlasting flowers and its traditional medicinal uses. The plant is characterized by its woolly, whitish-green leaves and grows in dry, sandy habitats. Historically, it has been used in folk medicine for its anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and choleretic (bile-promoting) properties, and its flowers are rich in beneficial compounds like flavonoids. 

 

Dawn Redwoods

One of a king, very interesting trees. 

Dawn Redwood

Along 19th.

The Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is a deciduous conifer that was once thought extinct, native to China, with soft, feathery foliage that turns a striking golden-brown or reddish-bronze in the fall before dropping its needles. This fast-growing tree can reach 70–100 feet tall, prefers moist, well-drained, and slightly acidic soil, and grows in USDA zones 5 through 9, making it a versatile choice for landscapes.

Two new ones on Beddington by Kerrisdale Loop.

Trees Ovation

 

By Villages - Spruce

Trees in Neighborhood and McAllister Park

Grey Alder volunteer along Oakwood.

Grey alder (Alnus incana) is a fast-growing, deciduous shrub or small tree in the birch family, known for its ability to fix nitrogen from the air, which improves soil quality. It has smooth, grey bark, oval, toothed leaves, and produces cone-like fruits. Found across the cooler Northern Hemisphere, it thrives in wet soils and is used for erosion control, reforestation, and as a pioneer species on challenging sites. 

Crimson King Maple

Norway Maple Acer Crimson King

 ‘Crimson King’ is a red-leaved cultivar which is noted for its rich maroon leaves that last throughout the summer and its purple fruits. Fall color is unremarkable. It is more compact and tends to grow slower than the species. Maroon-yellow flowers appear in clusters before the foliage in spring. Although small, the flowers have interesting ornamental value. Flowers give way to purple samaras (to 2” long) with horizontally spreading wings. ‘Crimson King’ was introduced in the U. S. in 1947 as a seedling of A. platanoides ‘Schwedleri’.

Ash Trees

These are in the Loop. 

Dawn Cedar

The Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is a deciduous conifer that was once thought extinct, native to China, with soft, feathery foliage that turns a striking golden-brown or reddish-bronze in the fall before dropping its needles. This fast-growing tree can reach 70–100 feet tall, prefers moist, well-drained, and slightly acidic soil, and grows in USDA zones 5 through 9, making it a versatile choice for landscapes.

These appear to be 3 separate trees.

Will see when the color and loose needles.