Llareta

A co-worker of mine just got back from a trip to Peru and Bolivia and recently posted a picture of an amazing Llareta mound. I did some searching and found these mounding plants grow only in the Andes, in full sun and they only grow 1mm / year. Structurally - might be the most beautiful things I've ever seen:

Harvest Season

Upper West Side, 17th floor. Grafted apple tree: 1/2 Golden Delicious 1/2 Granny. Finally...a productive year (this tree has been dormant for 4 years)

Upper east side animal masonry

The softer side of the creatures that protect our buildings: