As you may remember, I've been studying the hornbeams along the Water of Leith for Tree Year. The wonderful chandelier fruits of the tree are turning yellow just now, they're such a pretty sight! This tree is not native to Scotland (though I think it's native to the south of England) and was planted along the river as its wood is very hard and was used a lot in construction in the years when there were mills along the river. (There were over 70 at one time!). I walk along the same part of the Water of Leith every week, as part of my voluntary work with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust. So I pass these trees every week, though I haven't blogged about them as often as perhaps I had intended to when I first heard about Tree year!
For Tree Year and Nature Notes
Well, you've given me two lines of a haiku:
ReplyDeletefruits of the hornbeam
turning yellow
Now, can we come up with a third?
A lovely post, Juliet.
I love these trees. We had some on the old farm property where I grew up. My grandparents used the hornbeam wood for barter with folks who had supplies they needed, when they first moved there in the early 1900's. I often heard them speak about how valuable the wood was to them. A treasure! They were careful to guard their trees so that they would not be over harvested.
ReplyDeleteI want to have a hornbeam hedge along our forest garden boundary - it is supposed to be good on clay soils - to make a change from beech, but still be in leaf all year.
ReplyDeletePomona x
I was looking at your photo and thinking that the tree is some kind of elm but it is a hornbeam or is it.
ReplyDeleteBoth of those trees are not growing on our latitudes where I live but they grow in the southern part of Finland.
You are living in Edinburgh :)
You surely know Aberdeen and perhaps know also the village called Kinmuck. We lived there long time ago almost one year. I learned to know horse-chestnuts very well, their branches were moving just behind windows there.
Thank you for your visit my site
lovely tree...
ReplyDeleteWe have a hornbeam planted about twenty years ago. It is well-sheltered by the wood and seems to be doing well, although - as you quite rightly say - it is not a tree one associates with the North is it?
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful trees. Wonderful to see changes this time of year.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, Juliet.
ReplyDeleteIt is neat to see these trees changing through the seasons.
ReplyDeleteI love this time of year.
ReplyDeleteWe had native Hop Hornbeam in Pennsylvania (at least I think it was native). It grew small but had incredibly tough, long lasting wood for things such as outdoor stair railings (rough sawn). Colloquially it was "ironwood".
ReplyDeleteand I never did the tree meme and always meant to..I had not heard of a hornbeam before...
ReplyDelete