Ode to the Northwoods

A paper birch (Betula papayrifera) and black spruce (Picea maraiana ) in my parents yard. My father grew up in northern Michigan(Upper Peninsula).

White birch are not rare in Colorado home landscapes, but they are not really happy for very long in our hot dry steppe climate. This one has made it about 20+ years. I planted it as 1/2 meter whip some time around 1992.

The black spruce is quite rare in Colorado landscape, most people plant the Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), Norway spruce (Picea abies) or white spruce (Picea glauca) It was a beautiful tree for many years on all sides until the birch shaded its south side out.