Garden Closeup

"It's been quite a while since I focused quite literally on the exquisite details found within the world of plants and that's reason enough to do just that," James says. "After all, I've been wandering around my place lately, more like crawling on my hands and knees, and I've come across some truly incredible sights."

Although it's a common plant, James asks quizzically, how many times have you appreciated the thorn-like growth along the length of the aloe vera plant (figure C), or the showy bean pods produced by a red bud tree (figure D)? How about the fuzzy covered beans of the fragrant sumac, or Rhus aromatica (figure E)?

And one detail James finds particularly gratifying is this weed one week after being sprayed with 20-percent vinegar (figure I).