A deciduous tree, which on a clear stem can grow to 30ft tall, though can also have a low bushy habit, a native of the Eastern Mediterranean it requires dry sunny sites to grow well and is better suited to southern England than the north. The leaves are rounded and heart shaped and late to appear in the UK.

The flowers appear when the tree is leafless, the rosy pink blossom is so profuse that it gives the impression of a pink mist in the distance.

The popular name Judas tree is commonly believed to be derived from the legend that this was the tree that Judas Iscariot hanged himself upon after the great Betrayal.  Though the name could also be a corruption of ‘Tree of Judea’

Malus Rudolf

A small tree of upright habit, the leaves emerge a deep bronze red, as they open and develop they become a dark bronze green.

The flowers are deep red in bud opening to large, single, strong rose red covering the tree in late April and early May.

Weeping trees are always a good option for a small garden. One of the most spectacular  is the Kilmarnock Willow,  Salix Caprea Pendula.   As the weeping branches are top grafted onto a stem of native pussy willow  it has a beautiful umbrella form and doesn’t grow bigger than the height of the stem normally 6-8ft.

Its stand out feature are the beautiful  catkins in late winter/early spring that cover the tree, offering a  cascade of siver and gold in bud which fades to grey.

This grafted willow that is a weeping form of our native  Goat or Pussy Willow is quite happy in wet ground.

Salix alba Britzensis, the scarlet willow, is one of the best large, upright willows with coloured bark. Despite its common name it is more orange than scarlet, the strong colour glows throughout winter, seeming to intensify as spring approaches.

Sometimes wrongly listed as Chermesina, which is a similar, though different clone of Salix alba, white willow,  Britzensis is a male variety raised from seed in the 1870s by Spath, a German nursery at Britz near Berlin, hence the name. Its showy catkins are large and yellow.

Like any willow grown for the ornamental quality of its bark, it should be hard-pruned each or every alternate spring to encourage brightly coloured new growth. Old trees can be rejuvenated by pollarding (being cut at 6 to 8ft or so above ground level), which will also stimulate the production of new coloured twigs.

Ultimately, when left to grow on it can make a 70ft tree with a conical shape, the high canopy of coloured twigs sway in the wind and look spectacular when seen lit-up by low angled winter sun against dark rain clouds.

Comments and questions are always welcome.

Simon

Regarded by many as the best of the Witch hazels and definitely the most popular Hamamelis mollis is a shrub that can brighten up any garden on a windy February day.

Native to  China it is a slow growing but ultimately large shrub, with soft hairy round leaves that have a lovely yellow autumn colour. The main feature of this plant are the flowers that appear in February.  When clusters of sweet smelling, bright yellow flowers with ribbon-shaped petals cover the other wise bare stems.  Robust and hardy this plant will grow in full sun or partial shade.

As always comments and questions are always welcome.

Simon

Viburnum tinus- Laurustinus

Viburnum tinus is a winter flowering evergreen shrub with white flowers, which will grow in most conditions, happily existing in poor soils and even shade.  It has dark green oval leaves, densely held which makes it suitable for hedging, it can easily grow over 8ft tall and as wide.

Probably the most endearing feature of this evergreen is it’s preponderance to flower throughout the winter months.  The pink flower buds opening into tiny, star-shaped white flowers, carried in flattened heads and these are followed by small dark blue-black fruits.

Originally native to the Mediterranean and North Africa occurring in more luxuriant type of macchia vegetation it has been cultivated in Britain since 16^th century.  This most useful evergreen shrub has been popular in the garden ever since.

As always comments and questions are always welcome.

Simon

Whether Hazel is a tree or a shrub is often up for debate, but one thing that is for certain is the usefulness and versatility. It comes in many different forms some with contorted stems others with purple leaves. The one I am going to discuss here is one of the best eaters and is used extensively for commercial production all over Europe and North America.

Growing to a maximum height of 16ft/5metres Filbert bushes have a number of interesting features, in late winter long yellow ‘lambs tail’ catkins cover the otherwise bare branches and in the autumn the lime green oval leaves turn yellow. The nuts appear in late summer and can be eaten straight from the tree in September or left until fallen to the ground for collection for winter storage.  The Celts believed hazel nuts to be a source of wisdom and inspiration but in reality they are high in protein, unsaturated fat and vitamin E. The Filbert needs another cultivar for pollination, Gunslebert does this well.

As always comments and questions are always welcome.

Simon

Plants that flower throughout the winter are far from common and trees that flower in the winter are even thinner on the ground.

One exception to this rule is Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis Rosea’, winter flowering cherry.  A small ornamental tree that will only grow to 8m/26ft and can be found in flower on and off from November through March offering a bit of excitement when there is little else on offer in the garden. Its flowers of pale pink turning white can be cut and used to add a touch of colour to the house. In the spring it has small dark green leaves that do not provide too much shade in the summer, then in the autumn  they turn lovely shades of red and orange before giving way to the flowers in winter.

This is my first tree of the week and it seemed only fittng to use Picea abies, best known in Britain as the classic Christmas tree.

This large evergreen conifer can grow to heights of 130ft/40m, at a rate between 1 and 3ft a year depending on conditions. It is not  native to Britain and is thought to have been introduced at some time around 1500. It’s use as a Christmas tree only dates back to the 1840′s when Prince Albert and Queen Victoria decorated trees at Windsor Castle, it’s conical shape making it popular.  As well as its use for Christmas the Norway Spruce is also grown extensively for timber and its long straight lengths make it ideal for telegraph poles. It is also an ideal wind break as it keeps many of it’s lower branches.