(Sweetgum)
Origin: South-East USA
One of the most beautiful trees in Autumn, producing a display of colours from golden yellows, to deep wine reds, and almost violet in humid conditions. In its youth, this tree shows a more narrow pyramid shape, but spreads and widens its crown as it matures. This tree is best suited to planting where space allows it and does best in fertile, well drained soils.

(Japanese Maple)
Origin: The Far East
The wild form of Japanese Maple, prized for its gorgeous purple-red, orange or yellow autumnal colours. A popular choice for autumn colour in gardens, or as part of an ornamental woodland in a larger space. Best in a moist but well-drained loam,sheltered from cold winds. A shallow-rooting tree.

(Wellingtonia or Giant Redwood)
Origin: California, USA
Stand in this grove and admire examples of the largest tree in the world. Found naturally in only a few groves in the Sierra Nevada mountains at 1500 – 2500m altitude and up to 3400 years old. Its common name commemorates the Duke of Wellington, victor at Waterloo. Common in Victorian avenues.

(Dove Tree)
Origin: China
Related to Dogwoods, and first described in 1869 by Father David, French missionary who first reported the giant panda. Also called the ‘Handkerchief Tree’ after the yellow-white bracts around the flower, growing to 17cm x 10cm. A broadly pyramidal tree, of medium size at maturity. It thrives best on deep fertile soil and prefers to be planted in a sheltered position.

(Yellow Buckeye)
Origin: North America
One of the chestnut family. This species of deciduous tree is native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States, and was introduced to the UK in the mid 1700s. It grows in mesophytic forest or floodplains, generally in acid to normal soil, reaching a height of up to 48m.

(Cedar of Lebanon)
Origin: Lebanon, Syria and Eastern Turkey
An evergreen conifer that can reach 40m in height. Originating from a grove at 2000m altitude on the slopes of Mount Lebanon, this species is said to have provided wood for King Solomon to build his temple. It is the most mentioned tree in the bible, and commonly planted in churchyards. This is a typical mature habit: broad canopy with flat top.

(Coast Redwood)
Origin: California, USA
A very fine example of the tallest tree in the world: at 112m, three times taller than this one. Thought to require a moisture-laden, coastal, but sheltered, atmosphere to nourish its needles which have to pull   water such a colossal distance from its roots. Its bark can be up to 1 foot thick! Seeds only germinate after bush fires, which clear the ground and remove competition from seedlings.

(Turner’s Oak)
Origin: Cultivated
Originally produced  artificially at Turner’s Nursery, Essex, by  Spencer Turner in the 18th Century. A cross between the Holm Oak and the Common Oak. Turner’s Oak is a semi evergreen tree with distinct smooth, dark green leaves. It slowly develops into a broad- headed, medium-sized tree with yellow/green catkins in the Spring. Clusters of narrow 2cm long acorns to follow.

(‘China Girl’ or Chinese Dogwood)
Origin: East Asia
An attractive, early flowering form of Dogwood, introduced from Holland in the 1970s. In the summer, the leaves often take up a slightly curled-up appearance, which is completely normal for this species. Renowned for their beautiful early-spring flowers, followed by red strawberry-like fruits that can be seen throughout summer and into autumn.

(Monkey Puzzle)
Origin: Chile and Argentina
Large leathery leaves so sharp they would “puzzle a monkey” to climb. Historic over-exploitation for their excellent timber has caused this species to be threatened with extinction today. Reaching up to 30m in height, monkey puzzle has an almost cylindrical trunk with smooth bark. The base of a large tree can resemble an elephant’s foot.

(Atlas Cedar)
Origin: Mountains 
This blue form, native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and the Tell Atlas in Algeria, is the most commonly planted  cedar, seen in small gardens despite a   mature height of up to 38m. This is a particularly well-shaped crown with very fine, slightly pendulous foliage. It is very similar in all characters to the  other varieties of Lebanon cedar; differences are hard to discern.

(Cut-Leaf Beech)
Origin: Europe
Group of three of a very pretty form of common beech with deeply cut leaves, creating a much lighter feel than the normal dense beech canopy. It arises as a ‘sport’, naturally from ordinary beech seed, and cannot be told apart until it is a seedling. Many trees ‘revert’ to ordinary beech when semi-mature.

(Red Oak)
Origin: Eastern North America
A semi-mature tree. Fastest growing of eighty oak species in North America. It is one of the easiest to transplant, so is commonly planted in woods and gardens throughout the UK for its attractive shape and autumnal leaf colour. Although it isn’t as valuable to wildlife as our native oaks, it’s popular with nesting birds and pollinators.

(Chilean Plum Yew)
Origin: Chile
A hardy, evergreen tree, often multi-stemmed and shrubby when young, with smooth grey bark and yew-like, blue-green foliage. Cream male cones are produced in sprays of five to  twenty at various times of year. Green fruit, resembling small plums, ripen to a purplish-brown colour. It lives in well drained soils in Andean valleys in Chile.

(Western Yellow Pine)
Origin: Western North America
In contrast to the Monterey Pine, the Ponderosa Pine has smooth warm pink plates and a clean straight trunk with a neat crown. Ponderosa means ‘heavy’ or ‘weighty’ which well-reflects the tree’s importance as the main west-coast timber-producing pine. Native to mountainous regions of Western North America.

(Monterey Pine)
Origin: California, USA
These are gnarled old specimens of one of the fastest-growing pines. They grow up to 44m tall in southern England, and have been introduced to many countries, including New Zealand, where it is the mainstay of the timber industry. One tree recorded annual growth of 5m in its fifth year.

(Purple-Leaved Beech)
Origin: Europe
A copper or purple-foliaged form of the common ‘green’ beech. Even seed from a copper beech will contain 30-40% green beech! They can grow up to 32m tall and their purplish colour can make a large impact on the landscape – some think too much impact.

(Nordmann Fir)
Origin: The Caucasus
One of about 60 species of silver fir found in mountainous areas throughout the northern hemisphere, this example comes from north east Turkey and the Caucasus, where it grows to 60 m. In recent years it has become the most popular variety of Christmas tree throughout Europe as cut trees hold their needles for a long time.

(Japanese Red Cedar)
Origin: Japan
Frequently planted as a garden ornament because it retains its soft, plumy foliage into maturity, which  changes from pale opal in summer to bold brick-purple in cold winters. It has soft timber and tends to topple under its own weight and root where it touches the ground, to form a grove of smaller stems.

(Erman’s Birch)
Origin: East Asia
Like all Birch, this species is notable for its attractive bark, which is peeling and creamy in colour. The bright green, heart shaped leaves turn a bright and clear yellow before they fall. This tree retains a tidy, conical, pyramidal shape as it matures if the central leader is retained, making it a popular tree as it requires very little maintenance.

(Western Red Cedar)
Origin: Western North America
Very widely planted as a hedge, as a timber in forestry plantations, or as here, a magnificent specimen tree. Low branches on this tree have sagged to the ground, put down roots of their own (called ‘layering’) and are almost independent of the parent tree. Stand in the centre to fully appreciate its splendour.

(Monterey Cypress)
Origin: California, USA
The small Monterey Peninsula has given us this fast-growing cypress, up to 40m in height in southern Ireland, and the fastest-growing cypress in Britain. They were widely planted but not entirely hardy; many were killed by the hard winter of 1982 except in the mildest part of Southern Britain.

(Incense Cedar)
Origin: Western USA
A large, long-lived tree that can grow to 35m in height. Easily the grandest formal columnar tree planted in northern Europe; much larger and richer in colour and texture than the Mediterranean Cypress. Planted here in a close group of three for maximum effect.

(Katsura)
Origin: China, Japan and Korea
A beautiful tree which can grow to more than 30m in its native Japan and China, however in Britain plants rarely reach more than 15m. It has a rounded conical crown and attractive heart shaped leaves in opposite pairs. Katsura is a plant which gives interest all year round, with its constantly changing colour displays. In autumn the falling leaves emit a smell similar to candyfloss.