Croome An autumn colour walk - Fastly...stunning display of seasonal red foliage. G. London plane...
Transcript of Croome An autumn colour walk - Fastly...stunning display of seasonal red foliage. G. London plane...
1. From the Visitor Centre, turn left into the Wilderness Walk.
On the left you will see a smoke bush (A), continue along the
path towards the Church.
2. As you leave the Wilderness Walk to enter the main parkland
on your right is a beech tree (B). Follow the path past the
entrance to the Church and turn left through the gate into the
Church Shrubbery.
3. Follow the path, passing the Ice House and the Bird Hide on
your left and cross the tarmac road into the Home Shrubbery.
Heading towards the Rotunda, on the left you will see a very
old example of mulberry (C). Continue to the Rotunda and
then turn right down through the Home Shrubbery.
4. On your right in the Home Shrubbery you will see oriental
plane trees (D) and a maidenhair tree (E). On the left, just
before the gate into the parkland, you will see a swamp
cypress (F). These are all mentioned in the Hortus
Croomensis, the 1824 guide book to Croome.
5. Go through the gate and turn right following the path past
the Court and head for the Chinese Bridge.
6. Cross the bridge and here you will find two fine examples of
london plane trees (G) which Brown loved to plant near water.
7. Turn right and follow the path alongside the ‘river’. Go
through the gate into the lakeside and turn left following the
path towards the white bridge over to the island.
8. Cross the first bridge onto the island where you will see a
large horse chestnut (H). Cross the second bridge and follow
the path leading you towards the Grotto.
9. Just before the Grotto, on the left, you will see a lime tree
(J). Continue to follow the path round the lakeside and turn
left under the Dry Arch Bridge. Above you will see examples of
holly K) with its bright red berries.
10. Follow the path where, on the left, you will see another
example of the maidenhair tree (K). Continue past the Temple
Greenhouse into the Evergreen Shrubbery where you will see
examples of privet (L).
11. Continue along the path to the Church and then go through
the gate returning to the Visitor Centre through the
Wilderness Walk.
Directions
Croome - An autumn colour walk
Take a walk through an incredible landscape of orange and gold this autumn.
Route Details
A. Smoke bush, native to a large area from southern Europe
to northern China. The leaves are long rounded ovals, green
with a waxy glaucous sheen. The autumn colour can be
strikingly varied, from peach and yellow to scarlet.
B. Beech tree, the leaves of beech are often not shed in the
autumn and instead remain on the tree until the spring. This
process is called marcescence and provides continual colour
through autumn and winter.
C. Mulberries are medium sized trees that naturally grow in a
bush form. In the spring and summer the foliage positively
glows, whilst in the autumn and winter the stark gnarled
framework of branches looks simply stunning.
D. Oriental plane tree with a highly dissected leaf. Originally
from Asia Minor and India, the Oriental plane has long been
planted as a shade tree owing to its widely spreading
branches. In autumn they turn yellow and brown before
falling. As the tree matures the bark forms a patchwork effect
by flaking off in sections.
E & K. Maidenhair tree is one of the most beautiful deciduous
trees. This species evolved over 200 million years ago. Male
trees are preferable for ornamental use because of the smell
the female seeds exude. Brilliant autumn colour is one of the
many attributes of this tree. The shape of a ginkgo leaf, with
its scalloped outer margin, is similar to those of maidenhair
ferns, hence the common name of maidenhair tree.
F. Swamp cypress most famously associated with the
mangrove swamps of the Everglades, is one of the few
deciduous conifers found growing in Britain. In autumn, its
fine, feathery needles are shed just after they produce a
stunning display of seasonal red foliage.
G. London plane trees are vigorous, large deciduous trees of
stately appearance, with maple-like foliage and beautiful
flaking grey and cream bark. The leaves turn a rich orange-
yellow before falling in autumn.
H. Horse chestnut trees are a common sight but not actually
native to Britain. It arrived in the sixteenth century and was
grown, initially, as a specimen tree. Only later did it begin the
process of naturalisation, probably as a result of extensive
planting by landscape designers like ‘Capability’ Brown and
Sir Christopher Wren.
I. Lime tree is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a
spreading or rounded crown, and glossy dark green, heart-
shaped leaves to 8cm in length, turning yellow in autumn.
J. Common holly, everyone is familiar with our common holly,
with its glossy evergreen leaves and red berries in the autumn.
L. Privet, the fruit is a small glossy black berry containing one
to four seeds. The berries are poisonous to humans but
readily eaten by thrushes, which disperse the seeds in their
droppings.
Plant Descriptions
A
B
C
D E
F
G
H
I J K
L
A. S
mo
ke b
ush
(co
tin
us
coggy
gri
a)
B. B
eech
tre
e (
fag
us
sylv
atic
a)
C. M
ulb
erry
(m
oru
s n
igra
)
D. O
rien
tal p
lan
e tr
ees
(p
lata
nu
s o
rien
talis
)
E. M
aid
enh
air
tree
(g
inkg
o b
ilob
a)
F. S
wam
p C
ypre
ss (
taxo
diu
m d
isti
chu
m)
G. L
on
do
n p
lan
e tr
ee (
pla
tan
us
x h
isp
anic
a)
H. H
ors
e ch
estn
ut
(ae
scu
lus
hip
po
cast
anu
m )
I. L
ime
tree
(T
ilia
x eu
rop
aea)
J. H
olly
(ile
x ac
qu
ifo
lium
)
K. M
aid
enh
air
tree
(g
inkg
o b
ilob
a)
L. P
rive
t (l
igu
stru
m v
ulg
are)
Au
tum
n c
olo
ur
wal
k at
Cro
om
e