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Street Trees Urban landscape

The rain in London falls mainly on the planes

London plane trees should take their place alongside other London particulars like red buses, odd skyscrapers and unpredictable weather.

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Books Street Trees Urban landscape

London’s Street Trees gets an update!

I’m very pleased to announce that a new, expanded and fully revised edition of London’s Street Trees has been published by Safe Haven!

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Street Trees Urban landscape

Sheffield’s tree protestors show stainless steel

This is the post I’ve been thinking about for months. Yep, the one about how they’re cutting down all the street trees in Sheffield. Until now I didn’t feel I could quite do it justice, but a few days ago I went to Sheffield to meet the campaigners and to see for myself what was […]

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Street Trees Urban landscape

Five of the Best London Boroughs for Street Trees

From Hibiscus in Shoreditch, Golden Rain Trees in Osterley, and Bottlebrush trees in Pimlico, London has unexpected and fascinating street trees. Our urban forest, often under appreciated, is extremely varied and, what grows where differs around the city. So, which are the most interesting boroughs for a discerning London street tree admirer to visit, and […]

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Street Trees Urban landscape

London’s Street Trees on the Map (well, most of them)

Some months ago I heard rumours about a London Street Tree map being prepared by the GLA at City Hall. Excitingly, that map is now live and has been for a couple of months. For those who haven’t yet poured over the fascinating insights into what trees can be found on London’s streets would be […]

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Street Trees

There’s Norway to Confuse a Maple

There are lots of maples, but the most commonly planted street trees are The Norwegian or Norway (Acer platanoides) and the Sycamore (acer pseudoplatanus), both are handsome species and at first glance difficult to tell apart. They have a lot in common, they are similar sizes and have similar native distribution. The differences are subtle, […]

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Street Trees

Beechy green street trees

I grew up with a huge Beech tree at the bottom of my garden. It was actually in the wood beyond but I regarded it as our tree – it protected our house and shaded our garden; it’s leaves and mast fell on our lawn and it’s scions appeared in the spring, sometimes in great […]

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Street Trees Urban landscape

On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine

Have you noticed how rare coniferous street trees are in London? Take it from me, there are very few of them. Evergreens seem outnumbered by deciduous species, although more do seem to be appearing (such as the Strawberry Tree). So what are the reasons for this coniferist state of affairs; are pine needles seen as […]

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Street Trees Urban landscape

Olive and Kicking

I wonder what they were thinking, planting Olive trees on the streets of de Beauvoir Town and Pentonville? I like to think it is a nod to the glory days of 1980s Islington when media types slurped their way through tankers of new world Chardonnay accompanied by mountains of juicy olives. Famed in tabloid imaginations […]

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Street Trees

Tree Works or the Islington Pear Harvest

At this time of year I make frequent detours down St. John’s Villas, a residential turning off the Holloway Road, to see how the Pears are ripening. These rare street trees and their fruit are pretty special – possibly unique. If you would like to read more, here’s something I prepared earlier. This year, I’m […]