No better way to celebrate the beauty of bark than with trees from two historical plantings in Toronto—Mount Pleasant Cemetery and Coronation Park—and to acknowledge those involved in creating these remarkable living legacies. In 1874, Heinrich Adolph Engelhardt was selected to design and layout Mount Pleasant Cemetery, on the outskirts of Toronto. His plan involved enhancing the natural landscape of hills and dales, groves and creeks, and planting an arboretum. The cemetery opened on 4 November 1876. As Toronto’s first public park it became, and remains, a popular recreational destination. The size of a large number of the trees that I photographed indicated that they were part of Engelhardt's original plantings. With city council’s positive response, a tree planting ceremony became part of Toronto's coronation day celebrations. On 12 May 1937, surrounding a single Royal Oak an imperial ring of trees was planted representing parts of the British Empire. Beyond this ring, additional groves of maple trees were planted in memory of the many Canadian troops who fought during various wars. On 1 August 1938 during a corps reunion, a dedication plaque was unveiled in front of each tree. During the ceremony Frederick George Scott, senior chaplain to First Canadian Division, addressed the 60,000 ex-servicemen: “Young trees are a fitting symbol of the high ideals of the corps. They reach upward to heaven.” This past July I finally took two days and photographed trees at Mount Pleasant Cemetery and Coronation Park to document the beauty of bark. The range of bark textures and colors is fascinating. Besides the beauty, I was delighted to discover so much history living in these trees.