Several people wondered whether I had been to the top of Art Hill to take in the allee of maple trees spanning the crest of Art Hill in their full autumn splendor. On Tuesday Mary Morgan and I met there so I could take some pictures and we could also visit Monet's "Water Lilies" exhibition at the Art Museum.
After our visit the ever-curious Mary, a landscape designer, spoke with Jamie Frank, one of three Urban Foresters for the City of St. Louis, who told her there are 94 "Autumn Blaze" Maples planted on Art Hill, with additional examples of the same variety planted around The Muny. The trees were planted in 2005, replacing Littleleaf Lindens that proved unsuitable for our hot, dry summers. Renowned landscape architect Dan Kiley, who was responsible for the design of both Art Hill and the Arch grounds, died in 2004 at age 91.
On my way to meet Mary I spotted a photographer and his beautiful subject framed against the equally resplendent grasses at the foot of Government Hill.