Spindle Tree

It sounds like something out of a fairytale, and looks just like it too!  European Spindle Tree (Euonymus europaeus) was one of the trees we passed on a garden tour / field-trip in Niagara-on-the-Lake today.  I've never taken much of a liking to Euonymus.  I've had to prune the hollow shrubby bushes time and time again, I'm not a fan of things that are yellow-green variegated and I've never met one without scale.  Until today I never knew they had a tree form, but this pink'n'orange effervescent little specimen certainly caught my attention :)  Its not the sort of thing I'd plant as a focal point on its own, but I do love how it blends in with this whimsical setting -- as though Sleeping Beauty herself might come along at any moment, prick her finger and fall asleep on this bench. I should point out that although I'm told this tree is not problematic here in Ontario it is invasive in other areas.  I do also want to commend my teacher Dena Sebastianelli-Gavin, as she maintains this landscape and was the one who brought us on the tour.  Thanks Dena!  As a bonus, I've included this antique botanical illustration (Flora von Deutschland, 1885) in a high enough resolution to print. If you are bored of your Botanical Print Clipboard, or didn't make one yet -- this print would be perfect! :)