Carya cordiformis

Not to be missed while walking around the Garden are two spectacular treats providing autumn colour:

• In the lower woodland is Carya cordiformis, native to E.N. America. It has light brown bark that is fissured in a regular but off hand pattern reminiscent of the Walnut family, Juglandaceae, of which it is a member. The towering golden yellow canopy is visible from many angles. It is here I shall refer you to W.J.Bean, Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles where Bean makes a passionate case for planting “Hickory”. From preserving the tap root at the seedling stage thus ensure good establishment to appreciating the beauty of the genus as a mature specimen.

• Mespilus germanica also produces a golden effect through the turning leaf. These leaves are soft, downy to the touch. The “Medlar” is opposite the east end of the herbaceous border; regularly producing a good crop of its unusual shaped fruit. The pointed protrusions from the eye are the persistent remains of the sepals fused to form the calyx.
  

  Mespilus germanica