After the exciting colours and blossoms of spring, summer brings with it a sense of tranquillity.
The shiny new leaves on the trees range from cool lime green to the pinks and reds of the Japanese maple trees. 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. The summer offers some rewarding flowering highlights, sightings of wildlife and even some rare butterflies.
Early summer flowering trees and shrubs
May and June see the flowering of some familiar tree species. Perhaps the most familiar is the hawthorn – indeed its white flowers are so common in our hedgerows at this time that they are traditionally thought to herald the start of summer.
The Downs has some particularly good specimens. The Indian horse chestnut whose upright white and pink flower stalks stand out boldly – there are several fine trees in both Silk Wood and the Old Arboretum. Less familiar, but equally rewarding are some of our more exotic trees that choose now to flower. The scented cream flowers of the summer flowering magnolias in Savill Glade 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, Davidia involucrata on Main Drive. Philadelphus and Duetzia are also found flowering throughout the arboretum, remember Philadelphus have four petals and Deutzia have five.
Late summer flowering trees and shrubs
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,Catalpa bignonioides with its large numbers of small white and yellow flowers and bright green foliage (Main Drive) and the North American tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera 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 and Westonbirt holds a National collection. Though not spectacular in themselves,perhaps 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 during July. Another lime that is equally worth a visit, albeit for a different reason, is our coppiced small-leaved lime, Tilia cordata, in Silk Wood. Research has dated this tree at over 2000 years old, it consists of over 80 small trunks and covers over a tenth of an acre. Other plants in flower during August include the very beautiful Eucryphia's and the Clethra's.
Wildflowers
Wildflowers have been recorded at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum intermittently since the 1880s in various surveys and floras.To help conserve and develop Westonbirt as a rich wildflower landscape, the Westonbirt Wildflower Group of approximately 24 staff, Friends members and volunteers was founded in 2006.
The group includes retired botanists and meets once a month to identify, record, plan surveys and work to restore the rich wildflower and grass habitats.
