Tag: SE1

Introducing Hippophae salicifolia – the willow-leaved sandthorn

Post author By paulitzer
Post date 28 January, 2012
3 Comments on Introducing Hippophae salicifolia – the willow-leaved sandthorn

Our mystery South London street tree has been identified thanks to a correspondent who was able to recognise a fine avenue of Hippophae salicifolia. Several others suggested sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) which, as it turns out, was close but discounted due to size (tree rather than a bush), evergreen foliage and few berries. My own guess […]

Street Trees

Stumped: unidentified street tree

Post author By paulitzer
Post date 22 January, 2012
2 Comments on Stumped: unidentified street tree

On Curlew Street, in that late eighties enclave of converted spice warehouses just east of Tower Bridge on the south bank of the Thames, I have noticed a curious tree. Planted, I imagine, when the area was being cleaned up, they look to me like Giraffe fodder: tall trees with long branches, each bearing a […]

Tags berry, curlew street, evergreen, london, non-native, orange berries, SE1, shad thames, southwark, street tree, street trees, thorns, unidentified tree

Street Trees Urban landscape

Red Oak lives up to its name

Post author By paulitzer
Post date 4 November, 2011
2 Comments on Red Oak lives up to its name

In a post about the North American Red Oak (Quercus rubra) I wrote in the balmy days of August, I rather flippantly stated that ”… the beauty of this tree in its native New World is surely its fiery autumn colours which in our damper and milder oceanic climate is watered down from a rich […]

Tags acer, acer palmatum, highgate, japanese maple, london, maple, more london, N6, non-native, oak, quercus, quercus rubra, red oak, SE1, waterlow park

Street Trees

Strawberry trees in Southwark

Post author By paulitzer
Post date 23 October, 2011
5 Comments on Strawberry trees in Southwark

I was surprised and excited to bump into a row of newly planted Strawberry Trees (Arbutus unedo) in a Southwark street recently. As a child with an interest in native trees, I was fascinated to read about this mysterious tree with a compelling name in my botanical guidebooks. It was described as very rare and […]

Tags Albizia julibrissin, Arbutus, Arbutus unedo, bermondsey, london, non-native, Persian Silk Tree, SE1, southwark, Strawberry tree, street trees

Street Trees

Persian Silk in Globe Street

Post author By paulitzer
Post date 24 August, 2011
5 Comments on Persian Silk in Globe Street

I was transfixed by the charms of a Persian Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin) in Southwark today. A most majestic and unusual (for England) street tree, in fact a rarely-planted tree anywhere in the UK, street or otherwise. This is perhaps a cautious test planting to see what happens – the tree has a reputation for […]

Tags Albizia julibrissin, Globe Street, guerilla gardening, london, Persian Silk Tree, SE1, southwark, street trees

Street Trees

A Tree Grows in Bermondsey

Post author By paulitzer
Post date 22 August, 2011
6 Comments on A Tree Grows in Bermondsey

The Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is a common tree of street plantings, parks and gardens, in fact it pops up everywhere. It has a curious habit (in London at least) of blending in, it has a passing resemblence to the Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) or the Walnut (Juglans regia) and seems inoffensive when it first […]

Tags Ailanthus altissima, bermondsey, ghetto palm, london, SE1, Tree of Heaven