Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar

You know we're planning the garden. Our back (side) yard is basically an L-shaped blank slate. There are a few things we already know: we want to incorporate elements of Japanese gardens; we want to use bamboo; and we want this tree.

It's a Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, and it's fantastic. In our neighborhood, you can see them big and small, trained to hang sideways and trained to look like the demonic finger of the Dark Lord. But Red Butte Gardens offers 2 examples that take the cake.

Above, a specimen that dribbles its branches and spines here, there, and everywhere. It occupies a space probably about 20 feet in diameter. Below, the same kind of tree, this time trained to creep over the welcoming arch. Note the demonic finger bit on the left. I love this tree.


And that arch? Oh, it's the entrance to Iain's new favorite place, where the fountains invite little people to take off their shoes, roll up their trousers, and dip their liberated toes in chilly water.