Trees in parks and gardens 2019

[fermi de Sousa]

We bought this many years ago as Sophora japonica but I see that it's now called Styphnolobium japonicum.
It's probably not ideally suited to our climate but since improving the soil around it and watering the bed during the summer it has put on more growth and flowers each year
cheers
fermi

[François Lambert]

nice to see that a still rather small tree flowers well.  I collected seeds of such tree late December and have sown these immediately - some seeds were already showing signs of germination while they still were in the fruits.  They are now outside getting some kind of cold stratification.  So I hope I will not have to wait too long before having them flower over here.

[fermi de Sousa]

Good luck, François, with those seeds.
We got ours as a young tree about 15 or so years ago and it has grown very slowly to become a lovely tree.
We've now cultivated the bed around it to improve the soil and mulch it which I think is helpful for the tree
cheers
fermi

[David Nicholson]

I wonder if anyone could help my Brother out with an ID for this please. It's been in his garden for a few years now and has never grown more than a few feet high but this year it looks as though it's going to get to the top of his drain pipe, or further. Had he been called Jack I might have suggested it was a bean stalk!

[Carolyn]

David,
I think it is probably Campsis radicans. If so, I hope he has it in a south/west facing warm spot, to encourage the beautiful trumpet flowers.

[David Nicholson]

Many thanks Carolyn, he is not sure where it can have come from.

[Roma]

Holly berries are good just now. 

The first one is in my garden.  I think it is one of the 'blue' hollies. 
The others are in my ponies' field in pine woodland.

[Roma]

More berries.  All are self sown and not in the garden.

Cotoneaster simonsii - quite a lot of this at the edge of the wood near the house.  It is the last berry the birds will eat.



Another cotoneaster, a more attractive one



Sorbus hupehensis - I used to have it in the garden but it kept getting die back so had it removed.  There are two in the wood.  They still have berries and leaves.  The native rowans Sorbus aucuparia had their berries eaten and lost their leaves without turning colour a while ago.  Sorbus prattii (small white berries) has also lost it leaves and had the berries eaten.  It was quite amusing watching the blackbirds trying to get the last few berries on the ends of slender branches which couldn't hold their weight.