The Lagan Valley between Belfast and Lisburn is still a tree-rich area. Best known was the great oak at Belvoir Park Forest, recorded by the famous photographer Robert Welch and considered to be well over 300 years old over a century ago. This tree was taken as the crest of the family resident at Belvoir […]
Holm from Home
One Evergreen oak or Holm oak Quercus ilex has been treated very specially. The Sir Samuel Kelly home in Holywood, built and run by the Salvation Army, was built to accommodate elderly people and also to accommodate an elderly tree. In front of the entrance of the smart new building is an old evergreen oak, […]
The Forgotten Maple
To pick one tree in a forest is a difficult task, but this is a solitary survivor in a sad setting. Castle Caldwell Forest extends along the peninsula which juts out into the western end of Lower Lough Erne; part is an RSPB reserve. Beside the utterly derelict castle is a tree which is contemporary […]
The Ancient Ash
Entering Castlewellan Forest Park, on one side is the vast field where the annual Castlewellan agricultural show and other events take place. Standing by itself, easily seen from the entrance drive, is an ancient native ash, Fraxinus excelsior. Its trunk is the largest of any tree in the field, though lime, beech, and sweet chestnut […]
The Treasure Tree
Among the many fine oaks in the Crom estate, Co Fermanagh, is one that has a remarkable story, for which it has suffered over the years. Back in the seventeenth century, the Crichton family lived in the old castle, now picturesque ruins by the lough shore. (Subsequently they moved across to Inisherk, where some of […]
The Tragedy of the Elm
Both English elms Ulmus procera and wych elm Ulmus glabra are found in Ireland. While Dutch elm disease strikes the English species most readily, very few elm appear to be immune. There are some fine survivors left, like this one in the Blackwater River Valley in south Tyrone. Many are associated with large houses and […]
The Mother of all Irish Yews
The origin of the Florence Court yew is well documented. According to the Irish tree specialist (and Fermanagh man) Dr. Charles Nelson, two young yew seedlings were found on a Fermanagh hillside around 1740-60. The two seedlings were separated, one going to the finder’s own garden, and the other to his landlord the Earl of […]
The Ballyskeagh Beech
Not far away is another house associated with John Wesley, with very special trees. Chrome Hill was originally owned by the Wolfenden family who came to Lambeg from Brunswick in 1603, founding mills and living in what was then named Harmony Hill. The house and mills were sold in 1815 to Mr Richard Nevin who […]
Robinson’s Gold
Among the variants of garden cypresses, this one is golden. In 1962 it was discovered growing in Belvoir Park Forest on the edge of Belfast by the forester, the late George Robinson, who transplanted the little seedling into a flower pot and then to his own garden. It grew, flourished, and like other cypress could […]
King James’s Sweet Chestnut
Across Belfast Lough on the southern shore hotel in leafy Cultra, is a sweet chestnut traditionally associated with King James, although he may never have visited it. The tree is in a private garden which was once part of the grounds of a single large house, before being developed for smaller houses. In this case, […]