Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Bute, Nature, Paulownia, Trees on January 5, 2016| 13 Comments »
Seed capsules of Paulownia tomentosa on January 5, 2016
As the year turns and the sun starts to head back from the south I count myself blessed that I followed such a wonderful tree in 2015. My empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) has had something new to show every month and even now she is not exactly the same as she was when I first met her in Cardiff’s Bute Park, this time last year. (more…)
Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Nature, Paulownia, Trees on December 5, 2015| 8 Comments »
Holly berries in the background make the seed capsules look Christmassy, don’t you think?
I was lucky with the weather when I visited my empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) in Cardiff’s Bute Park this week. There had been torrential rain and gale-force winds for days but there was a brief respite on Tuesday.
I was meeting a friend for coffee at the Pettigrew Tea Rooms at the entrance to the park, so it made sense to choose this as my December day for the empress. I think it lovely that the cafe is named after a family of Victorian gardeners who did so much to create Cardiff’s parks, particularly in their planting of trees. (more…)
Posted in Cardiff, Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged autumn, Bute, Cardiff, Paulownia, Trees on November 5, 2015| 9 Comments »
Next year’s flower buds are already developing
I feel the year’s end drawing near for my empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) in Cardiff’s Bute Park. I know some tree followers track progress from March to March, but I tend to follow through a calendar year and then do a recap in January before choosing a new tree.
By the way, sadly Lucy at Loose and Leafy is calling time on hosting the tree-following meme for us all, but the good news is that she is passing it on to me to host, so hopefully I will do it justice!
I have set up a page with all the general tree-following information and links, here. I hope to publish a link box for all the tree followers on the 7th of each month and leave it open for a week – so see you Saturday. For now, though, here is my own monthly tree-following post. (more…)
Posted in Cardiff, Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Bute, Cardiff, Nature, Paulownia, Trees on October 13, 2015| 2 Comments »
I saw this outside the shop at the National Trust’s Dyffryn Gardens and thought it was a Paulownia, but it wasn’t – read on to find out what it was…
At first sight the empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) I am following in Cardiff’s Bute Park looked just the same as last month, so I let myself wander a bit.
Another tree nearby had been bugging me, as it also looked like a Paulownia and I really wanted my empress to be unique in this vicinity.
But first an October catch-up with the empress herself.
(more…)
Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Bute, Paulownia, Trees on September 10, 2015| 7 Comments »
The green is fading from the leaves of the empress tree
It’s September, the start of autumn, but for the most part the empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) in Bute Park, Cardiff, is still leafy and green. A wet summer may have helped.
This time I approached the tree from the “wrong” direction again, as I took the husband for breakfast at the Summerhouse cafe in the park first. I nipped around behind the cafe to snap the tree while he finished his bacon, egg and sausage sandwich with a knife and fork. (more…)
Posted in Cardiff, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Bute, Cardiff, Paulownia, Trees on August 11, 2015| 8 Comments »
Fallen branch of empress tree in Bute Park, Cardiff, August 6, 2015
August is usually a rough time for the trees here. The summer weather dries them out and diseases take their toll. But this year we have had a very wet July and I was pleased to see that the empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) I am following in Bute Park, Cardiff, still looked lush and green when I visited on August 6.
I’m following it every month as part of Lucy Corrander’s tree-following project.
Posted in Cardiff, Nature, Trees, tagged Bute, Cardiff, Nature, Paulownia, Trees on July 7, 2015| 15 Comments »
Fresh leaves on the empress tree, Paulownia tomentosa, in Bute Park, Cardiff, on July 2, 2015
Last month, as the purple flowers were falling and the leaves were just opening, the empress tree I am following in Bute Park, Cardiff, looked a mess – and I feared she would look terrible all summer. But bless her, she now looks splendid all clad in fresh greenery.
You may recall I am following this Paulownia tomentosa, also known as the foxglove tree, princess tree or empress tree, as part of the excellent Loose and Leafy tree-following project.
My latest visit to (more…)
Posted in Cardiff, Nature, Trees, tagged Bute, Paulownia, Trees on June 7, 2015| 17 Comments »
Fresh leaves on the empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) in Bute Park, Cardiff, on May 21, 2015
It’s already June in the tree-following year and it’s all change for the beautiful empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa, also known as the foxglove tree) in Bute park Arboretum in the middle of Cardiff.
I have visited a couple of times this month to take part in Lucy Corrander’s monthly tree-following meme on Loose and Leafy.
After enthusing so much about the tree’s beautiful purple flowers last month, I knew it couldn’t last, but I wasn’t sure how much the blooms would overlap with the expected new leaves. So I left it a couple of weeks and went back on May 21. (more…)
Posted in Gardening, Nature, Trees, tagged Bute, Nature, Paulownia, Spring, Trees on May 10, 2015| 24 Comments »
Fallen bud of Paulownia tomentosa
For weeks I have been visiting the Paulownia tomentosa (empress tree) in Bute Park, Cardiff, in the hope of seeing the flowers come into bloom. This is all part of the tree following project of Lucy Corrander over at the Loose and Leafy blog.
When I visited on April 24 I was disappointed again, until my eyes adjusted to the light and I zoomed in on the branches, all very high up on this particular tree…
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Posted in Nature, Trees, tagged Bute, Paulownia, Spring, Trees on April 11, 2015| 8 Comments »
No flowers yet on the empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
I was really hoping this time that the empress tree in Bute Park, Cardiff, would be showing off her purple foxglove-like blooms. But nothing.
On my third 2015 visit for Lucy Corrander’s Loose and Leafy tree following project I went to the park on the afternoon of March 26.
As the magnolias and cherry trees were now more or less in bloom, I thought the Paulownia tomentosa would also be one of those early spring flowerers, but no, so instead I had to make do with wandering around beneath the tree to see what I could find. (more…)
The Squirrelbasket 