This tree was admired by Thomas Pakenham, author of the wonderful book ‘Meetings With Remarkable Trees’. The pine Pinus sylvestris stands among woodland in the valley of the great Baronscourt estate in west Tyrone. The champion pine was planted with other ornamental species when the lake side drive and gardens were landscaped. Over the years, […]
Two Mighty Spruce
Downhill Wood is now Forest Service land, its entrance opposite the Bishop’s Gate of the National Trust Downhill property near Castlerock on the North Coast. Once in the forest, a path leads down towards a group of old conifers planted when the wood was still part of the Downhill demesne. One is a huge sitka […]
The Giants of Castlewellan
The original 5 hectare walled garden at Castlewellan was founded in 1740. The nineteenth century arboretum planted by the Annesley family has been extended by the Forest Service to about 40 ha. It now has so many champion trees that it really needs an entire book to itself – it has to be visited. Here […]
Street Trees
With the development of suburban houses and gardens around towns in the Victorian era, exotic trees and shrubs were very fashionable. Some original specimens still thrive and delight us – Winter-flowering Prunus and the range of white and pink cherries and magnolias catch the eye in Spring time. In recent years, many new planting schemes […]
The Armada Tree
Churchyards have many lovely trees, some commemorating famous people and often with good stories. At Carncastle, above Larne, with views of the Antrim coast below and the hills behind, there is a picturesque church on an ancient ecclesiastical site. Among the many graves, one is unmarked by a stone but is known by its ancient […]
The Alder Statesman of Breen
In ancient Ireland, sections of alder trunks were used as shields -the wood does not shatter when struck. These were big trunks, and no alders now growing are as big. The trees seem to grow faster, but live for fewer years and never reach the size of giants of old. The nearest is perhaps an […]
The Source Tree
Mount Caulfield House in Bessbrook Co. Armagh is the home of an astonishing ash tree. In one of the paddocks is a large ash, at first sight tall, broad (21’ 6” round) and strong, a fine tree – but there are others like it. Walk round and its special nature is revealed. The large, slightly […]
The Ash by the Abbey
Beside the river, on fertile soil of the river flood plain but slightly raised on the high ground that forms the Inch -an island – is the typical setting for ruins of a Cistercian abbey. At Inch, Downpatrick, the ruins of John de Courcy’s foundation lie quiet and still, away from the bustle of the […]
The Twelve Apostles at Crumlin
This is a terrific name for a group of trees, but a bit of a puzzle, because there are 14 of them. Just off the Belfast Road into Crumlin, in Parkfield, are a group of extra tall limes. Planted in a circle, the 14 trees were probably from the same stock and all have grown […]
A Fine Nut Tree
Walnut trees have a distinctive shape and form, and are easy to spot in late Spring or early Summer because they come into leaf very late. When the leaves first open they are dark in colour and have an apple-like smell. It was believed that the scent kept flies away: walnut trees were planted in […]