Saturday, December 6, 2008

MoMA: the Mara Branch


Some of the flora out here are quite spectacular. The bushes, especially, tend to take on shapes that really catch the eye. For example, the topiary above was not carved by an overzealous gardener—it just grows like that. It's the Mara's own form of modern art. Anyway, pictured below are a few of my favorites: the Daffy Duck Shrub, The Backpacker (that one really is amazing—check out his hat and his backpack!), and a tree I think looks like one of those giant paper dragon heads you might see at a Chinese New Year parade.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Until it collapsed, New Hampshire got a lot of mileage out of its Old Man of the Mountain. In fact, they still emblazon the image on their license plates even though it's been gone since 2003. Maybe Kenya should start marketing its flora as well as its fauna to tourists. "You might not be lucky enough to see leopards and hippos when you visit, but the imaginative trees will definitely be on display."

Anonymous said...

I guess I have no imagination. Maybe it would help if you put numbers in? Maybe you are hallucinating from all the anti-malarials?

Anonymous said...

oh - now I see the backpacker - had not been including the trunk. The dragon I'm still not seeing...

Anonymous said...

I don't see the dragon either. Leslie, you forgot to tell folks that it is giraffes who shape those bushes by browsing on them. Better than Edward Scissor-hands! Also both the daffy duck shrub & the back packer are gardenia trees (which sometimes bear sweet-smelling flowers just like the ones you find in your umbrella drinks at Trader Vics).

Anonymous said...

I think I need a few more Trder Vic Mai Tai's in order to see the dragon.

Leslie said...

you are all crazy, we can all see the dragon out here. the eye and everything. it's just a head, not a whole dragon. facing to the right.


Michigan State University | College of Natural Science