Trees Trees Everywhere

I joined the National Trust of England. It's an organization that preserves historic buildings, gardens, and countryside. My membership lets me enter the locations for free. I joined back in February and then we proceeded to have the rainiest April on record followed by the wettest June. The weather is beautiful now so I decided to get some use out of my membership.

I chose a place nearby called Winkworth Arboretum that had a guided walk scheduled. I thought that would be a good way for me to become familiar with that property. It was a great walk except we had to keep stopping to hear educational stuff about the trees. I like trees and all, in fact I love looking at trees. I just didn't realize I was getting mixed in with tree experts on the walk who are all about tree facts and names and types and blah blah blah. There I was with my bottle of water thinking I might need it for a vigorous one-hour hike in the woods. I had to laugh at myself for having different expectations of the walk. Oh, that's why it's called an Arboretum! It's all about the trees.

I'm sharing the photos that I took labeled with my own very unscientific captions.

Pretty flowering shrub

Cool carved bench

Pretty flowering tree

I think I captured the spirit of a purple ghost in this photo!

The place goes on and on for 100 acres.

Cluster of trees

Someone's clever nature artwork

More trees 

The path we were on

This tree looks like a Christmas tree no one wants due to its sparse branches:

Cool tree, wish I could remember the name.

So why are there so many types of trees here? A tree enthusiast, Dr. Wilfrid Fox, bought the estate in 1937 and it became his retirement project to assemble a large-scale collection of trees and shrubs. Quite an impressive retirement hobby I'd say.

There are even some "National Champion" trees in the arboretum. Trees of the largest girth or height in the country are recorded in "The Tree Register".

As our guide was pointing out different varieties of magnolias, I couldn't help myself and had to tell him that I was from America and I definitely recognized the American Magnolia with the large fragrant white blossom on it. A lady asked if it made me homesick and I have to say it did a little. I should have kept my mouth shut because later the guide asked if I recognized another tree from America and my tree ignorance was shameful.