Robinson style

This year we lost a beautiful tree in the shrubbery. It was called Styrax japonicus or japanese snowbell. In the spring it has little white bell shaped flowers that hang down along its branches- stunning tree.

I have no idea why it died but it had been slowly weakening over the last few years so it was no surprise.

All the planting in the shrubbery is based on plantsman William Robinson. He was known as the wild gardener and absolutely HATED the fashionable Victorian bedding planting of the time. He liked more naturalistic planting and if a tree died he would see it as an opportunity to grow a climber up the structure.

So that is what we have done to our Styrax. We will plant another one but while it grows the dead one can support Cobea and a Clematis- we have purposefully chosen climbers with white bell shaped flowers!