I guess I should have counted myself lucky to have been based in a leafy London area. Though the tantalising proximity of Kew Gardens made me long to be wondering around there rather than sitting in an office. Still, I could get a green fix on the way in and out of work.
The cherry on the front page is in a churchyard. I thought it was some extreme and traumatic pollarding but one of the Sentient Forest cohort is a arboreal expert and said that this was certainly the effect of grafting.
I wonder what led to this? There must be a story behind the tree.
Another story as yet untold, just a few yards away.
This horse chestnut is destined for the chop. On the sheet it says 80% crown loss. I'd go with 100% personally. I can understand the need to fell it in a residential area, but standing dead wood is such a great habitat. More worrying is the cause of the tree's decline. There are a lot of horse chestnuts around here.
From end of life to early life care.
You can understand the need for extra water when you look down.
It can be a hard life for street trees.
The proximity to the botanical gardens seemed to have encouraged some interesting planting. This as a Caucasian Elm.
Here, a Hop Hornbeam.
And a Princess Tree or Empress Tree. This deciduous fast growing tree was named in honor of Russian Princess Anna Paulowna (1795-1865). It bears huge flowers, like those of a foxglove and is also known as a Foxglove Tree.
This one is "just" a sycamore, but I love seeing how this tree seems "part of the family".
And, if this has whetted your appetite for tree-talk, here is a wonderful documentary - actor Judi Dench's passion for trees.
Oh I couldn't access your link for Judi BUT I was able to watch it on a Canadian public streaming network. I have always liked her. And I enjoyed the documentary. And you posted quite a variety of tree pics. That Hop Hornbeam has a grandly shaped canopy. And I see why you liked the family sycamore.