Aspens Mixed with Evergreens

Trees, along with all other plants, prefer specific soil conditions, seasonal moisture levels, temperature variations and cycles, direct or indirect sunlight, and a vast array of other requirements. Sometimes they need other plants to shelter their seedlings.  Sometimes they need insects or mammals to disperse their seeds.  We only partly understand  this community of life.  The more we learn, it seems, the more connected, dynamic, and complex we find that it all is, and the more we realize how little we know. Aspen, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine and Engleman spruce usually grow in distinct areas, but here on Crystal Bench in the Lamar Valley they are mixed more than usual.  One thing we can say for sure is that they make a beautiful mixture of color and texture.