It's been a long time coming but springtime is finally upon us. The warmer air and the longer days mean buds are swelling and blossom is emerging. We've got some tips below on the flowers to look out for in the next few weeks, but first some welcome news: Herne Hill Tree Watch was awarded £5,000 for tree planting in this year's Cleaner Greener Safer funding round, Southwark Council's annual allocation to community environmental projects.
Dulwich Village ward councillor Richard Leeming had some warm praise for our group during the Zoom meeting on February 23 when the decisions were announced, but we couldn't have succeeded without the strong support you showed for our proposal back in October. It's the second year running that we've been allocated money for trees from the CGS scheme.
This year's £5,000 and last year's £12,000 are both earmarked for wildlife-friendly trees in stretches of road where none have been planted before. It's critical to increase the neighbourhood's tree cover wherever we can to help combat global warming, rather than just replacing lost trees. We've already got commitments for a total of 57 new plantings this season, and this extra funding should bring us many more in the coming winter. We'll be talking to you in the next few months about what trees you want and where so that we can get them locked into the planting schedule for 2021/22.
The joy of blossom
We've been enjoying the spectacular pale pink blossom of the purple-leaved cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii) for some weeks now. They can come into flower in late January and last until late March. You can admire them outside 19 Beckwith Road, 8 Burbage Road, 106 Burbage (a white one), 1 Elfindale, 68 Elfindale, 52 Ruskin (the tree pictured with the magnificent crown) and 81 Ruskin. The dark red leaves beginning to unfold among the flowers can make the cherry plum seem a bit gloomy during the rest of the year.
Herne Hill actually had far more of these trees not long ago, but has lost seven just recently: four were felled on Carver Road and one each on Elmwood Road and Hollingbourne Road, while one was brought down in a storm on Danecroft Road. Maybe residents or the council's tree officers can tell us why so many have gone. Japanese cherries and wild cherries on our streets will be in full bloom over the next few weeks, including the glorious avenue of Yoshino cherries (Prunus x. yedoensis) on Winterbrook Road. Their red buds are starting to open up and the pale pink blossom will be at its peak very soon.
The magnolias of Casino Avenue that we featured in the February newsletter are also worth watching, with creamy flowers already opening on the big tree opposite nos. 24-26. And Chanticleer pear blossom is on the way too. More on that in the 'Great Trees of Herne Hill' item below.
Finally, you may have noticed the brilliant yellow blooms and feathery evergreen leaves of the mimosa tree (Acacia dealbata). You can see them in front gardens at 17 Burbage Road and 7 Hollingbourne Road, but they're rarely planted on pavements. One exception is a big mimosa at the bottom of Grove Lane, Camberwell, but it's not currently in flower. Further up Grove Lane though, just past Lyndhurst School, there's a lovely group on the lawns of the Ortus conference centre at nos. 82-96. There are pictures of all these species below.
The top 20 trees
These are the 20 commonest trees in the Herne Hill area, according to the TreeTalk map. Out of roughly 1,700 trees in the area, the most frequently planted was the London plane, with 218 examples. Here's the full list:
London plane (218)
Silver birch (89)
Common lime (73)
Himalayan birch (71)
Ash (62)
American sweetgum (Liquidambar) (60)
Chanticleer pear (56)
Yoshino cherry (54)
Horse chestnut (48)
Japanese cherry (40)
Hawthorn (36)
Native cherry (31)
Purple cherry plum 'Pissardii' (28)
Holly (27)
Sycamore (27)
Cherry (25)
Grey alder (22)
Magnolia (22)
Beech (21)
Hornbeam (21)
Most of those placings won't be a surprise to you, but some trees listed – like ash, sycamore, grey alder, beech and hornbeam – are rarely seen in the streets of Herne Hill. We came up with the figures by defining a rectangle on the TreeTalk map, bordered by Sunray Avenue in the north; North Dulwich station in the east, the junction of Burbage Road and Turney Road in the south; and the Herne Hill railway bridge in the west.
That meant of course that a few streets on the Lambeth side of SE24 crept in, along with stretches of Croxted Road and Turney Road that we don't cover. Plus the map includes trees in Sunray Gardens and the grounds of the Delawyk estate, so it's not a totally accurate representation of street tree numbers, more a rough guide.
It’s worth pointing out too that TreeTalk relies on data from local authorities for its map and Southwark's inventory need updating. For example, the map shows a couple of dozen cherry plums in our area, but we could only identify seven survivors.
You can do a tree count on TreeTalk by entering your street name or postcode on the map then clicking the green label at the bottom (marked with the number of trees and species in the chosen area). The label will expand to show you how many of each type there are. If you click on a species name every example will be highlighted with an orange ring. And if you select one of those individual specimens a card will appear with more information and often a photo.
TreeTalk is also available as an app on your mobile, which is handy for walks.
Great trees of Herne Hill
Number 7 in the top 20, the Chanticleer pear (Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer') is a street tree that's been planted a lot here in recent years. If you're not familiar with Chanticleers the best place to start is the row of three outside Burnet Ware estate agents, Lombok restaurant and The Roome café on Half Moon Lane. You'll learn to recognise them easily by their elegant wineglass-shaped outline and the delicate tracery of their branches.
Chanticleers grow quickly and retain their columnar profile, which is useful for our narrow streets. They're early to come into blossom, with pretty white flowers emerging in March, and their dark green leaves turn yellow, orange and crimson in autumn. They're tolerant of pollution and drought and unlike other fruit trees their tiny brown berries don’t make a squishy mess on the pavement.
But not everyone is a fan. Chanticleers are prone to developing a thicket of suckers at the base, often with long, sharp thorns that are absent in the crown. And in the USA, where the parent species, Pyrus calleryana, has been widely planted since the 1950s, it's escaped from city streets in eastern states and invaded natural areas beyond. Chanticleer, which was cloned from a tree in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of a number of what are called 'cultivars' of the parent species – varieties developed by selective breeding. Pyrus calleryana itself is native to China.
There's a particular specimen that you should have a look at if you're walking down Burbage Road towards Dulwich Park. Just before the crossroads at Turney Road, outside no. 103, stands what must be one of the biggest, oldest and stateliest Chanticleers in the area, taller than the rooftops. The picture below shows it in early March, with green-tinged branches that look like they're coming into leaf. In fact the colour comes from the extensive lichen that covers the tree.
The gnarled framework of limbs makes it look ancient, but estimating its age from the diameter of the trunk suggests it's only 30 to 35 years old. One of our Burbage volunteers might have a more precise idea of how long it's been there.
More planting – coming soon
There haven't been any street trees planted in Herne Hill since January, but the council tells us the planting season belatedly starts in earnest next week (beginning 15 March). They're confident of delivering a successful programme by the end of April or the start of May.
We're now expecting 42 new arrivals in this 7-8 week period, and we're delighted to say these will include two trees at the top of Elfindale Road that our street leader, Matt Simpson, has been waiting for since 2019. That's when Matt won funding through the CGS programme for three trees to fill big gaps near the junction with Herne Hill. The first of these was planted in December 2020, a 'Sunset Boulevard' cherry (Prunus 'Sunset Boulevard') between 2 Elfindale and the side of 79 Herne Hill. That will now be joined on the other side of the road, uphill from the row of garages, by a tassle cherry (Prunus litigiosa) and a birch. Well done to Matt for being so persistent.
Street by street, here's a quick round-up of all the additional trees due this spring:
Burbage Road: one tree (at side of 44 Half Moon Lane)
Carver Road: three trees (at no. 13, 36A, 53)
Casino Avenue: three trees (opposite 8, outside 36 in garden square, outside 87 on grass verge)
Danecroft Road: two trees (at 61, 65/67)
Elfindale Road: three trees (one at 19, two along the wall of 77 Herne Hill)
Elmwood Road: three trees (opposite 74, opposite flats at 76-86, at side of 96 Frankfurt)
Frankfurt Road: four trees (at 2A, 19/21,24, 30/32)
Half Moon Lane: two trees (at 29, 37)
Hollingbourne Road: four trees (at 1, 3/5, 16/18, 51)
Holmdene Avenue: one tree (at 18)
Red Post Hill: four trees (two at Cassinghurst House, one each at 42/44, 56)
Ruskin Walk: three trees (opposite 1, opposite 5, at 26)
Stradella Road: two trees (opposite 1 and at 50)
Sunray Avenue: five trees (outside 16/18 on grass verge, three outside 49-71 in garden square, outside 113 on grass verge)
Winterbrook Road: two trees (both opposite church).
Watering needed While we're waiting for these youngsters to show up, we should be starting to water the new batch of trees that went in between late November and the new year. Ideally we want to give them a good soaking to encourage deep root growth, gradually working up to 50 litres of water a week - one green bag full – by the summer months (May-August).
Through September and early October we can slowly cut back again, but if at any time the weather is especially hot, dry or windy do increase the volume. Remember you can’t over-water young trees but you can easily give them too little.
If you can't manage the full summertime ration of 50 litres in one go it's fine to deliver 20 litres or so twice or three times a week instead. Keep up the routine for the first two or three years after planting, so don't forget the young trees from the previous couple of seasons while you're busy attending to the 2020/21 arrivals.
Here's a reminder of the 15 brand new trees that appeared on our streets over the winter and need looking after now:
Burbage Road: one tree (ginkgo at 85)
Carver Road: one tree (silver birch at 1)
Casino Avenue: three trees (privet outside 27 Herne Hill, aspen outside 114, aspen outside 115)
Elfindale Road: two trees (cherry at 4, cherry between 2 and side of 79 Herne Hill)
Elmwood Road: two trees (Himalayan birch at 13/15, Himalayan birch at 23/25)
Hollingbourne Road: two trees (Yoshino cherry at 25, Himalayan birch between 57 and Warmington Road)
Holmdene Avenue: two trees (Japanese pagoda tree between 96 and Half Moon Lane, ginkgo at same location, closer to junction)
Stradella Road: one tree (tulip tree at 87/89)
Winterbrook Road: one tree (Yoshino cherry at 28/30).
Please get in touch with your street leader to organise a watering rota where you live.
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