Russian Olive on the Walla Walla

Russian Olive on the Walla Walla - 5x7 - Oil on Gessobord

Click to BidRussian Olive! A beautiful tree when trimmed properly, with gorgeous purple-black bark contrasting against silver sage green leaves. Here in Washington and much of the West it's considered a noxious weed. In Europe where it is a common ornamental tree it rarely produces fruit, but here within three years it bursts with little olive like fruits that birds scatter for miles. They thrive in the poorest soil and quickly take over river and creek shores, pushing out cottonwoods and other native riparian vegetation. But! Despite their noxious status they can be quite beautiful, and this grove caught my eye while I was driving along Highway 12 near Walla Walla.