How a Horse Came to be Buried Under a Tree

A surprising comment came back to us after a recent group visit to the gardens at Betley Court, namely, ‘why don’t you make more of your specimen tree collection?’. It was surprising as we hadn’t really considered we had a specimen tree collection. When I come to think of it though, if you’re lucky enough to be guided around the garden by Nigel, he likes to pick out certain trees and tell the stories behind them as he walks around. Some of the trees have been there for centuries, others are recent additions, often impulse buys, or gifts to mark significant birthdays.

So, what makes a ‘specimen tree’ and marks it out from the thousands of trees we have in the woodland? The word ‘specimen’ comes from the Latin ‘specere’ to look, and in this context refers to trees that were especially planted to be observed. They merited attention because they were unusual looking, contrasting to local species, rare, or from some geographically distant part of the world. Often owners of grand estates planted them to illustrate their wealth, as a coveted specimen brought back from China or the USA would have cost a small fortune in the days before air freight. Exotic plants demonstrated the garden owner’s sophistication, their superior culture or experience of travel. What better way to show off to the ‘Jones’s’ than by planting a fancy tree in the middle of your lawn?

We have in the region of 25 trees that might be described as ‘specimen’ trees, and I plan to have a guide ready next year. There is, of course the magnificent Cedar of Lebanon (Cedris libani) uprooted and replanted as a semi-mature specimen by ‘The Tree Mover’ William Barron in 1866 when he redesigned the lawns at Betley Court. It even has a mention in Wikipeadia. We planted a young cedar, Cedrus deodora at the end of the last century as insurance against Barron's tree failing

Barron's cedar of Lebanon (right) and its heir (left) 

Also, on the lawn is a giant redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), bought to mark a significant birthday during the noughties. William Lobb, an experienced plant hunter for the Veith Nurseries first brought the giant redwood (in the form of seeds and seedlings) to the UK in 1853, and their arrival caused a new craze for planting them on British country estates. Large examples can be found at Killerton, Sheffield Park and Penryn Castle – although our one has a way to go before it reaches ‘living monument’ proportions!

Two potentially invasive trees were enthusiastically adopted into British gardens precisely for the look of their un-English foliage, and we have examples here. False acacia or black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) was introduced to the UK in 1636 from North America. It has deep ridged, gnarly bark and acid green pinnate leaves, and luckily for us grows well in sandy soil. Ours inhabit the barbeque area of the garden, slightly incongruously in the Staffordshire countryside.

False acacia amongst the bluebells in April

Down by the pond, we have a Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altisima). It was introduced in 1784 as an ornamental plant from China chiefly because of its exotic, tropical looking leaves, and its ability to grow outside tropical climes. It’s tolerance to difficult growing conditions, especially in urban areas has earned it the pejorative name ‘ghetto palm’ in the USA. For the time being, our British climate keeps it under check, although it is a major pest species in warmer parts of the world.

Tree of Heaven on the left, as seen across the pond

Up on the paddock we have a couple of cherry trees. One was planted about 15 years ago, to mark the fact that when the landscape designer William Emes made this area of the garden a ‘cherry field’ when he devised his scheme for the grounds in 1785. The other one has a rather lovely story to it. Former tenants in one of the flats used to rent the paddock for their horse. Eventually, the horse passed away, and it was their dearest wish to bury him where her was happiest – up on the paddock overlooking Betley Mere. They asked if they could mark the spot with a cherry tree. I hasten to add that they had the horse cremated before they interred him in the ground. You’d be surprised how many people ask how on earth we dug a hole big enough for a horse!


Ladybird Su