Ilkeston - The Trees
Of Victoria Park
w/e 16 August 2009
All this week's pictures were taken
with a Kodak DX6490
Part 01 - On the Drummond Road side
Victoria Park, gifted to the people of Ilkeston by the Duke of
Rutland to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee is roughly
triangular in shape being bounded by Drummond Road, Bristol Road
and Manners Road. In this part we will start in the centre of
the park and proceed in an anti-clockwise direction towards the
Drummond Road side.
Pride of place though must go to the Common Oak that stands in
the middle of the park. It was planted on the opening of the
park in 1902 by the Duke of Rutland and, although 'common', this
particular tree has been elevated in status to take its place
among the gentry and is known as the 'Duke Oak'.
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On the slope between the Duke Oak and the Bandstand is the second
tree both on the leaflet and the information post. In fact all
six of the trees in this section correspond to their leaflet
numbers. This species is the Raywood Ash which was introduced
to the UK from its native Australia.
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The Raywood Ash is also known as the Claret Ash, a reference
to the leaves that turn dark red in autumn but in August the
feathery leaves are a lovely shade of green.
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Between the bandstand and the gap that leads to the children's
play area on the Manners Road side of the park is a fine specimen
of a tree that is often found not only in parks but also on streets
throughout the country. This is the Common Lime which at 30m
high grows to be the tallest broadleaved tree seen in Britain.
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 The
next three trees all stand in the space between one of the main
paths through the park and Drummond Road. The first is a species
that is usually seen overhanging water but here this Golden Weeping
Willow is surrounded by grass. In the main picture above the
bandstand with the adjacent iron seats can also be seen whilst
in the small image on the left, taken from the opposite side,
parked vehicles and houses on Drummond Road can be seen. This
small image too also shows the curvature of the tree trunk as
the weeping branches and slender drooping leaves seem to favour
the Drummond Road side.
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Nearby is a Silver Maple tree and although it is not yet mid
August some of the leaves near the top of the tree are already
beginning to change colour. As autumn gets nearer the silvery
undersides of the leaves that contribute towards the name of
the Silver Maple species will turn bright yellow or orange.
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Our final tree in this section is another weeping variety but
this as distinct from the Golden Weeping Willow is a Weeping
Ash. Willows grow to 20m in height but the Weeping Ash is somewhat
smaller at only 12m.
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The Weeping Ash is described as "an ornamental species with
a cascade of flowing and gnarled branches." Gnarled or not,
the branches on this specimen are hidden by another cascade,
that of the leaves that are somewhat broader than the neighbouring
Willow.
In September we will move to a cluster of trees on the Bristol
Road side of Victoria Park to take in the next six on the Tree
Trail before viewing another five in October and November respectively,
by which time autumn will be truly upon us.
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