In this special edition from the makers of Country Life magazine, we have compiled a collection of features celebrating the formidable and picturesque mainstays of the countryside. From the mighty oak to the watery willow, we will spotlight the most remarkable specimens of our country. Additionally, we’ll take you inside remarkable arboretums, such as Thenford, and highlight the culture and history around our beloved woodland by paying tribute to the Woodland Trust.
Welcome to COUNTRY LIFE TREES
Noble assets • For tree-loving landowners who want to leave their mark, nothing beats planting your own quercetum. Mark Griffiths celebrates the mighty oak and its determined collectors
Take a bough • Among their deceptively inert branches, trees shelter feathered Pavarottis, scuttling beetles, opportunistic fungi and fierce owls. John Lewis-Stempel recounts a day in the life of an oak and the creatures that call it home
Trees for life • The Woodland Trust was set up as a Nature-conservation charity specifically concerned with trees. Clive Aslet visits its south Devon birthplace of over 50 years ago and remembers its far-sighted and altruistic founder
The core of the issue • Throwing an apple core from your car window may seem harmless, but you are, in fact, endangering the future of our truly wild crab apple, discovers Vicky Liddell
The pick of the crop • Whether you have rolling acres or only a small plot, planting an orchard is worth planning properly if you want to be harvesting the fruits of your labour for years, if not decades to come, says Mark Diacono
Blossoming ideas • There's crab-apple jelly, of course, but ornamental apple trees offer so much more: they're easy to grow, have beautiful flowers that last longer than those on Japanese cherries and there's one to suit every garden, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Think big • The old advice always used to be to plant small and wait, but recent innovations mean that gardeners can plant outsize trees with confidence, says Charles Quest-Ritson
The tall tale of the walnut tree • From its origins in the Garden of Eden to its intricately patterned wood and our love of cracking open and consuming its hard-shelled fruit, the walnut tree has enjoyed a long and colourful history, says Charles Hulbert-Powell
The tree of life fights on • Mark Griffiths celebrates the historic, handsome and irrepressible native ash
Cut and come again • Easily identified by their gnarled silhouettes, pollarded trees can be found all over the country. Charles Quest-Ritson looks into the history and origins of this ancient method of tree management tree
Bonkers about conkers • Surprisingly non-native it may be, but we've taken the horse-chestnut tree to our hearts and must worry about its future, says Ian Morton
Fatal attraction • Lured by the intoxicating scent, hordes of murmuring bees descend on our avenues of lime, many to meet their death. Vicky Liddell investigates the ‘tree with a thousand uses’
Flame throwers • More than 3,000 different trees—in particular, the fine collections of oaks and maples—put on a striking autumnal show, writes Charles Quest-Ritson
The protector of cherry trees • Val Bourne tells the extraordinary story of the creation by a Japanese schoolteacher of a new race of flowering cherries, which is now available in this country
Bring me sunshine fire • Mysterious and magical, yet often overshadowed despite its colour-changing abilities, the field maple is elegant, full of sweet sap and perfect for making musical instruments, finds Vicky Liddell
Are you properly nuts? • Nutteries–even if no more than a few hazels in a mixed orchard–offer the chance to grow impressive specimens that will long be admired, says Mark Diacono
Life's a beech...