Golden wych elm: Ulmus glabra Lutescens
Each leaf is a lens filtering light into the tree’s
ample aura; taffeta greens shot through with
clean citrus tones. Foliage that steps the sun
down into wattage soft and soothing enough
to do you good. Just to look is botanical
baptism. Behind the new leaves are older,
darker leaves; deep bottle-green which cup
new growth the way a florist cuffs flowers
in a posy – darker outlines lending depth,
definition, three dimensionality. A comely
arrangement by someone who knows her
aesthetics – symmetry, balance, how to use
shadow so the feature stands out. The light
and the dark of leaves is a philosophy the tree
imparts; the new coming into being, the old
falling away, no longer in the limelight.