2:33pm Thursday 3rd June 2010
London is famous for its architecture but it also has impressive trees. Jenny Landreth has discovered the city’s finest in her book. Nick Elvin reports
LONDON may be a large, built-up metropolis, but there are few major world cities that incorporate so much green space into their urban sprawl.
Playing an important role in this are the capital’s trees. From the iconic planes found in the squares of Mayfair to the mighty oaks of Richmond Park, trees are part of the city’s history and folklore, and add some much needed greenery to even the most bustling thoroughfares.
Now nature lovers can learn more about some of the most prominent, venerable and unusual trees in the capital thanks to a new book.
Time Out’s The Great Trees of London includes more than 60 trees, featuring their history, botanical terms, photographs and practical information for visitors.
Among the trees covered in the guide is the hundred-year-old Japanese maple in Hendon park. The book describes it as “one of the biggest of this species in London” and describes how in autumn its “filigree leaves provide a blazing ball of colour, from the darkest purple to fizzing cherryade red or an almost fluorescent yellow”.
Other north London trees in the guide include a yew, located in the churchyard of St Andrew’s Church, Totteridge, which at about 2,000 years old is London’s oldest tree.
There is also the elm located outside the Greyhound pub, on Harrow Road in Wembley. Although the nearby stadium dominates the skyline, and therefore gets most people’s attention, the book notes that both the tree and the arch “make you lift your head from the pavement and look up”.
“This particular tree has been in place for as long as people have been watching the beautiful game – so over 100 years.”
The book also reveals an interesting piece of history: “As a small tree, it may have shaded visitors to Watkin’s Folly, London’s answer to the Eiffel Tower”. The folly was the brainchild of Sir Edward Watkins MP, who wanted something similar to, but taller than the Parisian landmark.
The resulting structure was opened in 1894, not even half-built, and a quarter of the height of the Eiffel Tower, due to money running out. It was demolished in 1907.
The Great Trees of London is published in association with Trees for Cities, a charity set up to encourage the planting and protection of trees, especially in urban areas.
Its chief executive Sharon Johnson says it is important to make a record of London’s historic trees.
“The capital’s great trees are of much historical importance,” she adds. “They all have unique stories to tell and it is important to ensure their protection today so future generations can enjoy and learn from them.
“The great trees are distributed right across the capital, so you know you’re never far from a piece of history.”
The Great Trees of London, by Jenny Landreth is out today published by Time Out.
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