Description: Because a community is more than just people
Foxglove tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
Dear Readers, this exotic tree is really not the kind of thing that you expect to see in suburban East Finchley, so when I saw one on Sunday I was stopped in my tracks. The flowers are all the more special because they are not reliable – the buds set in late summer and then have to survive the winter, and as the tree is native to central and western China this is cannot be taken for granted. And then, sometimes the tree takes a break instead of flowering, and who can blame it? Paul Wood, in his book ‘Street
The foxglove tree is, in spite of its eerie exotic beauty, something of a pioneer plant, in the same way as a willow or a birch tree can be – it has huge leaves (up to two feet across) that capture light efficiently and which also absorb pollutants, making it a good choice as a street tree. It grows so quickly (up to seven feet in a year) because it is racing for the light – once overshadowed, it will wane and die. This is a relatively short-lived tree for this reason (Paul Wood estimates up to thirty years
A London Inheritance - A Private History of a Public City
CabbieBlog | Taxi Talk Without Tipping
Alittlebitoutoffocus | Mike's Mountain Moments & More…
Jeremy Bartlett's Let It Grow blog
Michael Peverett