Guelph University & The Arboretum - Part 1

When I arrived at Guelph on Sunday afternoon, I first checked into the hotel, then headed to the university to get my registration kit.  Since the weather was not too bad, I decided to take some photos and tried to find the Arboretum.

This scenery reminded me of New Orleans, such as this image.



The only building I photographed during this trip.

Without a map, I ended up walking along College Avenue East.  Feeling I was going the wrong direction, I cut into the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming.

Unknown fruits on the tree.

I eventually found the entrance into the Arboretum.

So many trails!


Once I entered into the Arboretum, I immediately regreted not bringing my OM 50 f1.4 lens.  The maple trees still had their leaves and would made beautiful images.  I tried to make do with just the 70-300 lens.

Love when the sunlight penetrates the leaves.

The oak leaves were very colourful too.

Chinquapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)

Very large and interesting leaf.

Cucumber Tree (Magnolia acuminata)

The importance of the threatened Cucumber tree.

There is a very large Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana) at UBC.  This one is just a tiny one.

Another vulnerable species.

Eastern Prickly Pear (Opuntia humifusa), is naturally found in southern Ontario but is now an endangered species.

A gorgeous sugar maple tree by the parking lot.

So magnificant!

Sign underneath the tree.

I then walked through this tall shrub with interesting berries.  Looking at the sign, I saw that it is in the Araliaceae family, same as the Wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) I photographed in Algonquin.

Acanthopanax sessiliflorus


Katsura Tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) had pretty heart-shaped leaves.

The sign.

Red maple leaves are much smaller than the sugar maple leaves.

It was getting colder and darker towards the end, so I went to Tim Horton's to get hot tea and then headed back to the hotel to call it a night.