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 […]
Trees of Character
Trees of character have some special features of their own – and add to their surroundings.
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 […]
About Yews at Loughgall
The yew walk is an amazing feature of the garden at Loughall, the house and grounds owned by the Department of Agriculture but part now open to the public. The walk dates from around 1685 and the founding of the estate. The yews here are not clipped, but are free-growing trees of spreading form. Two […]