2018 tree following 11: Year of the linden

The branches of the linden tree beside The Wharf in Cardiff Bay in February this year

Every year I put together a round-up of images of the seasons of the tree I am following, but sometimes I do this in December and sometimes January.

This time I am choosing December as the small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata) I am following beside The Wharf in Cardiff Bay has shut down for winter and in January it will be time to move on and consider another tree to visit during 2019.

I’m not sure the linden I have followed has been as spectacular as my previous choices, listed at the end of this blog post, but this species is so common on the streets of Cardiff that it merited some attention.

For the record, here are some of my images from 2018…

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2018 tree following 10: The last leaf

The seasons turn – and this abandoned bicycle wheel among the fallen leaves of my little leaf linden (Tilia cordata) on The Wharf (former East Bute Dock) seems an appropriate image

We are in late Autumn here in Cardiff and the small-leaved linden (a cultivar of Tilia cordata) next to the Wharf in Cardiff Bay has lost nearly all of its golden leaves, although in other parts of the city and on other trees, such as ash, maple and hornbeam, there is still a great deal of colour.

I took these pictures on November 3 during an overcast lunchtime in the middle of a spell of very wet weather last week, which will be continuing into next week.

This time my visit was not part of my long monthly circuit of the Wharf but just a quick foray specifically to visit the linden.

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2018 tree following 9: Golden days

Golden leaves on the little-leaf linden (Tilia cordata) beside the Wharf on October 3 – slightly speckled with brown damage and with a few leaves still green against the blue sky

We are in the middle of Autumn here in Cardiff and the small-leaved linden (a cultivar of Tilia cordata) next to the Wharf in Cardiff Bay is shedding its golden leaves.

I took these pictures on October 3 during a clear and cold spell, but this weekend we have been hit by the wind and rain of Storm Callum so I doubt if many leaves now remain.

This month I again walked anticlockwise around the Wharf and took distant views of my linden and its neighbours before I reached them.

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2018 tree following 8: Signs of autumn

Shades of autumn gold beneath the little-leaf linden (Tilia cordata)

Autumn is on its way here in Cardiff and the small-leaved linden (a cultivar of Tilia cordata) next to the Wharf in Cardiff Bay is starting to show some autumn colour.

This month, knowing I would have to take a detour, as the developers of the apartments/flats alongside the Wharf have blocked off the footpath, I went around the water in an anticlockwise direction for a change, meaning the detour came at the end.

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2018 tree following 7: Surviving the drought

Plenty of green leaves on the linden next to the Wharf in Cardiff Bay, despite the drought

The drought has broken in Cardiff now. We have had plenty of welcome rain over the last week, following a couple of months of hot and dry weather. The small-leaved linden (a cultivar of Tilia cordata) next to the Wharf in Cardiff Bay is looking surprisingly green and healthy.

My monthly tree-following visit had to take a bit of a detour this time, as the developers of the apartments/flats alongside the Wharf have blocked off the footpath during construction work. I hope this will eventually open up again to allow a complete circuit of the old Bute East Dock, but it’s not certain, as part of the land is privately owned. For now I had to walk along Schooner Way to regain my route.

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2018 tree following 6: Catching the flowers

Linden flowers on the tree beside the Wharf in July

It’s mid July and here in Cardiff many of us are hoping for some rain for the garden and cooler days and nights so that we can catch up on our sleep. We have had hot and dry weather for weeks now, with temperatures hitting 32 degrees Celsius, and we are not used to it.

On the day I walked beside the Wharf (old Bute East Dock) to visit the linden tree (Tilia) it was the only overcast day we have had in ages – and we even had some very light rain that lunchtime.

I think I must have missed most of the flowers, which have opened and disappeared since my last visit a month ago. But I did manage to spot a few.

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2018 tree following 5: Fruitful flowers

Buds of linden, June 5, 2018

It’s mid June and here in Cardiff the weather is living up to its summer promise, with many scorching-hot sunny days. But there is still a cooling north-easterly wind most days as I walk beside the Wharf (old Bute East Dock). And all at once the linden tree (Tilia) I am following is full of green flower buds.

Actually I thought they were the fruits, but as this tree seems to be running later than others I have seen, the flower buds have yet to open and the fruits will come later. I hope so, or else I have completely missed them!

To paraphrase Wikipedia, the small yellow-green hermaphrodite flowers of Tilia cordata are produced in clusters of five to 11 in early summer with a leafy yellow-green subtending bract and have a rich, heavy scent; the trees are much visited by bees to the erect flowers, held above the bract; this arrangement is different from that of the common lime Tilia × europaea where the flowers are held beneath the bract.

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2018 tree following 4: Just leaves…

Leaves of the linden (Tilia) beside the Wharf in Cardiff Bay on April 26

It’s mid May but here in Cardiff the weather is still a little chilly and changeable. But we have had a couple of hot, sunny days here and there and these have urged the linden tree (Tilia) beside the Wharf (old Bute East Dock) to sprout its greenery at last.

I knew this would happen so I have visited twice this month as I didn’t want to miss anything. In the space of a few weeks the red leaf buds have fully opened and the tree is now clad in green.

Here are some pictures comparing April 26 and May 8…

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2018 tree following 3: Fishing for something to say

A few yards from my linden tree on the Wharf is this sign – which suggests you mustn’t run off with a fish under your arm or cook and eat one here

Well, spring has officially arrived, but the weather in Cardiff is still a little chilly and sometimes wet.

Better temperatures are promised but for now my linden tree (Tilia) alongside the Wharf (old Bute East Dock) seems stuck in late winter. There is no sign of the buds opening yet.

When I visited this week I found it impossible to get right up close to take pictures as there were anglers parked alongside it.

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2018 tree following 2: Waiting for spring

The red buds of the linden show no change since last month

Very little has changed since I chose this linden tree in February. For one thing it has been a short month and for another we had a blast of wintry snow for a few days, which seems to have set us back in our charge towards spring.

There have been no further clues to help me identify the tree fully, but there’s no reason to doubt that it is some variety of small-leaved linden or lime, Tilia cordata.

It stands in a car park by the Wharf (old East Bute Dock) near County Hall in Cardiff Bay and I doubt if I will ever see it without a background of vehicles.

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