2023 tree following 3: Green is busting out all over

The sycamore in the distance, framed by alder catkins

Well, I’m really cutting this fine – just in time to publish my tree-following blog post for the month.

I had hoped to visit the sycamore in Llandaff Fields when it snowed last week, but the snow only lasted an hour or two before it turned to rain.

So I ended up visiting today, as the cold and snowy weather from the north and warmer, wetter weather from the south competed and left South Wales with a window of a few hours of sunshine.

Here are my photos from a visit today (March 14)…

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Tree following link box for March 2023

Birch in March

Welcome to the March 2023 tree-following gathering. I look forward to seeing everyone’s news and pictures once again. Spring is on its way, so if you haven’t chosen a tree to follow for the year yet, now seems like a good time.

Here in South Wales as March begins it is mostly cold and dry with easterly winds – although snow has been forecast for some areas later in the week.

I hope to visit the sycamore in Llandaff Fields this week and it would be wonderful to picture it in snow – but we rarely have a covering of the white stuff so near the warm coast of the Bristol Channel.

I’m sure you regular tree followers will have something to report. Point to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box below. And please don’t forget to leave a comment.

The link box is now open for contributions and will stay open until 7pm GMT on March 14.

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here, although, as I have been saying for ages, I must update that page when I have the chance. Maybe this year!

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2023 tree following 2: Long shadows

Shadow of the sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff

After a wet and then frosty January, February has started with some drizzle and mist and quite a few fine late-winter days.

I visited the sycamore I am following in Llandaff Fields on another lovely day – from my photos you would think the sun always shines in Cardiff!

A reminder that in America this would be called a sycamore maple but in the UK it’s simply a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus).

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Tree following link box for February 2023

Ash branches against a cold February sky

Welcome to the February 2023 tree-following gathering. I look forward to seeing everyone’s news and pictures once again. Newcomers are always welcome and I see some of the usual followers are already looking for a new tree.

Here in South Wales in January we had some very wet weather followed by some very frosty weather – with temperatures at night falling to minus 5 degrees. That’s unusual for Cardiff, as shown by the fact that in one street the paving slabs lifted apart all along the middle of the footway because of “frost heave”, caused by expansion of wet ground below.

Since then the weather has been alternating between mild and damp and cold and dry as the Atlantic jet stream moves to the north or south of the UK.

I hope to visit the sycamore in Llandaff Fields this week while the weather is again crisp.

I’m sure you regular tree followers will have something to report. Point to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box below. And please don’t forget to leave a comment.

The link box is now open for contributions and will stay open until 7pm GMT on February 14.

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here, although, as I have been saying for years, I must update that page when I have the chance!

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2023 tree following 1: A new tree

My new tree to follow – a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff, with a dog walker on the right for scale

Happy New Year! It’s time for me to choose a new tree to follow in 2023 – although I know some tree followers plump for a new subject in Spring when nature starts waking up again.

i have decided on a tree even closer to my Cardiff home than last year’s. That tulip tree in Victoria Park took me 20 to 30 minutes to reach on foot, while this one takes about 10 minutes – and only five minutes to reach a point where I can see it from the road.

As revealed in the photo above, I have selected a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) in Llandaff Fields. In America this would be called a sycamore maple but in the UK it’s simply a sycamore.

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Tree following link box for January 2023

Pine trees and others in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff

Welcome to the first tree-following gathering of 2023. I look forward to seeing everyone’s news and pictures once again. Newcomers are always welcome and I hope some of the usual followers might be thinking about their next tree already.

Here in South Wales, January has started with mostly damp weather, although there have been a few sunnier breaks as the days lengthen.

I have now rounded up my year of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park and will introduce my new tree next week.

I’m sure you regular tree followers will have something to report. Point to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box below. And please don’t forget to leave a comment.

The link box is now open for contributions and will stay open until 7pm GMT on January 14.

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here, although, as I have been saying for ages, I must update that page when I have the chance!

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Remembering the year of the tulip tree

The bare tulip tree in February 2022

I will soon be starting to follow a new tree so it’s time to look back on 2022, the year of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park.

For the record, all my tulip tree posts can be found here.

These are some of my photos taken from winter through spring, summer and autumn to winter again…

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Thompson’s Park on Boxing Day

Dead leaves in Thompson’s Park on Boxing Day

It has been a while since I walked around Thompson’s Park, the nearest of Cardiff’s small parks to my home. But Boxing Day was a rare day of sunshine and showers in an otherwise very wet and murky festive period, so I thought I would get some fresh air.

As usual at this time of year there were still a few observations of interest. Here are my photos…

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2022 tree following 12: End of the year

Twin trunks of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park

I visited the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park for the last time today as we near the end of the year.

The weather has been cold since the start of December, with some frost, ice and freezing mist – but only one light dusting of snow so far. Today was very cold and raw but brighter than the dank days earlier in the week.

The tree is now stripped bare of leaves, as it was when I first started to follow it in February 2022.

Here are the photos from my visit…

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Tree following link box for December 2022

Glossy smooth-leaved branches of a holly (Ilex) in my garden – I have yet to find a satisfactory explanation of why some of the leaves lack prickles

Welcome to the December tree-following gathering. I look forward to seeing everyone’s news and pictures once again. And newcomers are also always welcome.

Here in South Wales, after a very wet November, December has begun very cold and much drier, with winds from the north and east.

This is the time when evergreen trees start to show their winter usefulness, although there are still a few yellow autumn leaves on the bigger ash trees (Fraxinus) and the sycamores (Acer pseudoplatanus).

I will need to visit the tall tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park in the next week, to say goodbye after a year of following it.

I’m sure you regular tree followers will have something new to report. Point to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box below. And please don’t forget to leave a comment.

The link box is now open for contributions and will stay open until 7pm GMT on December 14.

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here, although, as I have been saying all year, I must update that page when I have the chance!

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