Tree Survey at Harcourt Arboretum

The final lecture (quite sad!)of this years Garden Design Course covered the topic "Tree Survey" and started with a test about the 31 most common trees in the UK. We actually all did quite well remembering common and latin names ;-) thinking for instance of Harry Potter ( Fraxinus Excelsior)...:-))) Thank you Tracy, I will NEVER forget that plant in my life, as well as the alnus glutinosa...(not telling what we thought of that one actually...)

We then went to Harcourt Arboretum, part of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden- the oldest Botanic Garden in Grait Britain with a history of 380years.

The task was to survey 10 trees in hight, branch width, stem diameter, physical and structural condition and then finally grade them...poor trees were like models on a catwalk ;-) And yes, the grading is a little bit subjective as the tree can be not super healthy but if you find its structure interesting and like its character because it add architectional interest to the garden you might give it a better grade.
The bluebells were out as well as the azaleas...colours and fragrances, absolutely beautiful!

It was a great way to finish this one year course, the sun was out and I actually experienced my first hot day in England!
A stroll through the garden made this day perfect. I have seen my first Snowdrop Tree (Halesia monticola, USA) which is stunning!

They are rare and you might only find them in larger gardens and if you think we have time off now to rest...WRONG. But the bench was nice anyway...