Summer

 

Summer Highlights

 After spring’s exciting renewal, a peaceful leafiness seems to descend upon the arboretum. After the rush of blossom and flush of spring green, summer is the season of quiet growth – where all the trees seem to get on with the business of photosynthesis rather than showing off with dramatic gestures. Instead, a feeling of calm seems to filter through the arboretum, creating a wonderful atmosphere for relaxing – particularly in hot weather when the green leafy rides and secluded glades provide cool refreshment from the sun.

However, although the overall impression may be one of an ocean of green, for those that hunt amongst the foliage, the summer does offer some rewarding flowering highlights – some of which are listed below.

Early summer flowering trees

May and June see the flowering of some familiar tree species. Perhaps the most familiar is the hawthorn – indeed its white flowers are so ubiquitous in our hedgerows at this time that they are traditionally thought to herald the start of summer. The Downs has some particularly good specimens. Other conspicuous species include the whites, pinks and mauves of the lilacs and laburnums on Mitchell Drive and the common horse chestnut whose upright white flower stalks stand out boldly – there are several fine trees near to the Great Oak Hall.

Less familiar, but equally rewarding are some of our more exotic trees that choose now to flower The scented cream flowers of the umbrella trees on Savill Glade (which can reach 10 inches across) or the lavender flowers of the foxglove tree on Specimen Avenue. But surely the highlight of early summer is the sight of the incredible white bracts of the handkerchief or dove tree on Main Drive.

Late summer flowering trees

As with all things in nature, just as one thing stops so another starts – and this is certainly true of the trees at Westonbirt. Come July and August a new set of trees comes into bloom. Two trees to seek out at this time are the Indian bean tree with its large white and yellow flowers and bright green foliage (Main Drive) and the North American tulip tree with its distinctive four-lobed leaves and solitary tulip-like flowers. There are tulip trees throughout the collection but those on Jackson Avenue are particularly noteworthy.

But perhaps the most impressive in terms of sheer number of flowers are the lime trees. For though not spectacular in themselves, they are so numerous at this time that the air is often heavy with their scent – while the low drone of bees gathering nectar can be audible from some distance. To get the full effect of this it is worth visiting Lime Avenue on a warm still day. Another lime that is equally worth a visit, albeit for a different reason, is a small-leaved coppiced lime in Silk Wood.Believed to be over 2000 years old, it consists of over 80 separate trunks and covers over a tenth of an acre.

Trees To Look Out For

By Hugh Angus, Head of Tree Collections

Summer is a great time to focus on Tilia, the limes – as they are great providers of cool summer shade. They are also known as Basswood, derived from bast, the name for the inner bark, which can be woven into clothing, shoes, mats and ropes. A particularly good web site for information on its uses is www.pfaf.org.