more tree trouble: crabapple woes

After a lifetime spent playing other people, Drew Barrymorehas created a new career—and a home line—based on being herself. 

Though located in a stately pre-war building on New York’s Upper East Side—a neighborhood not generally associated with laid-back, loosey-goosey vibes—the sunny three-bedroom, three-bath apartment that Drew Barrymore shares with her two daughters, Olive, 10, and Frankie, 9, is anything but uptight. Her two cats and two dogs make themselves at home on the sofas, her girls regularly spread out their messy art supplies all over the dining room table, and even Jeremy, the family’s bearded dragon (who, by the way, is female), is allowed to roam free.

Kim Cornelison

New Trees: Recent Introductions to Cultivation by John Grimshaw, Ross Bayton and illustrated by Hazel Wilks. Amazon

The best trees for chalk soil conditions tend to be locally grown and not be Dutch imports. In fact they resemble shrubs more than trees but there are the odd exception that are tree like.

An unusual tree with even more unusual fruit.

Avoiding early onset of death caused by disease or climate change will affect the trees we plant in the future. Gardeners must consider tree selection carefully bearing in mind more than aesthetics and utility. Economics of forestry have increased there relevance to Britain as (the dreaded by some) Brexit nears. We import and export more wood than in previous years but with those extra tree miles comes risks. Toxins pests and disease are to readily spread from one country to another. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is designed to protect over-exploitation and endangerment  through international trade.

Fascinating leaves are grown on this unique tree that has been around for over 200 million years. Last one of a kind the Ginkgo has no close relatives. Now famous for its extracts and herbal remedies it is also a revered tree in the Buddhist religion.

The ancient Chinese have cultivated Tree Peonies for over 1500 years. Prized specimens are and were grown for medicinal purposes as they contain glucocides and alkolides. The  imperial palace gardens had many specimens that became quite valuable.

Liriodendron tulipifera or Tulip tree is a tall striking tree related to the magnolia with similar Tulip shaped flowers. It has been planted in Britain since 1688 as an ornamental parks and gardens tree.

Credits Quiver Tree by hibbijibbies CC BY-ND 2.0 “Midas tree by Paul WatsonCC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I used to think Beech trees grew on the beach but now I know a little better but not much. This is one of the UK’s most useful trees and deserves to be grown where ever space permits.