New Trees: Recent Introductions to Cultivation by John Grimshaw, Ross Bayton and illustrated by Hazel Wilks. Amazon
01.08.2023 - 15:05 / gardenerstips.co.uk / hortoris
The British have a fascination with trees be they humble or ‘Remarkable’,’Ancient’ or saplings, ‘Great’ or just plain good.
I have collected facts on a dozen tree species to discuss over the next couple of days. I have tried to stick to a set format and apologise if I have missed your own personal favourite.
The book covers are just a small selection of books on the topic of Trees. As always you can buy them from Amazon by clicking on the cover.
You can search using the box top right for specific Trees within Gardeners Tips and Google at the same time
Trees are some of the oldest living organisms on our planet.
You can often find trees in unusual places but the best arboretum show off the skill and endeavour necessary to grow fine specimen. I particularly like Thorpe Perrow in Yorkshire where Sir John Ropner, has just died aged 78.
Remember trees are not just for bonfires. I work in a secondhand bookshop and sold a childhood copy of the Observer Book of Trees last week. The buyer was ecstatic.
You need a good field guide and Collins have replaced my trusty old Observer
New Trees: Recent Introductions to Cultivation by John Grimshaw, Ross Bayton and illustrated by Hazel Wilks. Amazon
Conker collecting has encouraged many a stick to be thrown into a Horse Chestnut tree. The candle or flower heads are even more spectacular than the crop of conkers that they give birth too.
The Lime is a tall growing well shaped tree which is often grown along avenues and public places in the UK. The flowers have an exquisite fragrance.
A water loving tree that is comparatively short lived at about 150 years. It is fast growing and can often be found near river banks.
After salad crop failures in Spain and shortages of courgettes, broccoli and other ‘long distance’ vegetables gardeners could to worse than focus on traditional and non-traditional root crops.
Common Ash trees row widely in the UK and other Ashes grow in Asia and America. Our Ash has dark almost black buds and some species have interesting flowers but it is as a tree the provided wood to make bows that the Ash is best known in Britain.
From the National Christmas Tree Federation ‘For Christmas trees, overall color of Norway spruce is fair to excellent, but needle retention is considered poor unless the trees are cut fresh and kept properly watered. Growth during the first 10 years after field planting is relatively slow and 8 to 11 years are required to grow a 6-7 foot tree.’Above in the public domain because its copyright has expired
Conifer trees and plants are available in a range of colours, shapes and sizes. Sequoia conifers are the largest living thing on the planet. Mature trees reach for the skies but rockery or horizontalis varieties are ground hugging by comparison.
The name Hornbeam derives from ‘hard tree’ a reference to the property of the extremely tough wood.
The Brown Turkey fig, Ficus carica, produces large, sweet, juicy figs even in British conditions.
The Hawthorn flowers in May hence one of its common names. Gnarled old trunks give testimony to the Hawthorn’s ability to survive in exposed windy conditions. The thorns help make the tree a good hedging subject.