Cedars (Cedrus)

These form the backbone of the Gardens - the original commemorative Jubilee trees beloved of the Victorians with a tradition stretching through to at least Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977 when a (suitably silvery) Blue Atlas Cedar was planted.

There's a lovely overview of the species at treesandshrubsonline, here.
Our City Centre Tree Trail includes a Deodar cedar at TT19 and reference to the others.

More details to follow on these iconic trees.

Willow-leaved pear, weeping (Pyrus salicifolia 'Pendula')

A surprising small tree filling the small circular raised bed towards the east of this section. It combines small pear-shaped fruit with weeping-willow-shaped leaves!

Details at treesandshrubsonline: willow-leaved pear.

Where else can you see one? We don't know of another in Chichester - please let us know if you find one.

London Plane (Platanus x hispanica)

Look for these along New Park Road, where they are lapsed pollards (further north, opposite the houses, they are still occasionally pollarded). You'll notice the distinctive "plates" of bark that help these trees deal with urban traffic pollution and almost-conker-shaped seed balls. In Spring/Summer you may spot he distinctive browning pattern of Anthracnose of plane , a disease associated with the tree's leaves.

Tree details at treesandshrubsonline: London Plane, or for a quicker read with some great photographs here at the Woodland Trust.

These are likely original Victorian-planted trees. Map information and ecosystem services estimations to follow when we've had chance to check them out.

Wildlife value: low.

Where else can you see one?  Just over the New Park Road, on the recreation ground, you'll see a line of youngish trees running parallel to the huge old roadside horse chestnuts. These too are plane trees, planted in anticipation of the future death of their roadside companions in a rare local example of tree succession planning. You can find another London Plane on West Street marking the entrance to the paved plaza approach to the main cathedral door. In Westgate, you can marvel at the scale of another, older, tree, possibly planted in the 1700s, that fronts what is now the offices of Mercers.

Limes (Tilia, probably Tilia x europaea)

These line the south side of Priory Road. We know they are not broad-leaved limes, as they do not have their characteristically ribbed fruit. Epicormic growth, the shoots from near the base that are so characteristic of the limes on West Street beside the cathedral, is much less that those trees, nevertheless it's likely that these too are common lime (Tilia x europaea). We will need to pay more attention to their flowers to be sure (and can compare with the younger trees of small-leaved lime that can be found nearby in the Little London car park).

Use one of our favourite tree identification websites to explore the differences between the various lime species for yourself; treeguideuk is one person's labour of love: Lime Trees. Also at at treesandshrubsonline: Lime Trees.

These are likely original Victorian-planted trees. Map information and ecosystem services estimations to follow when we've had chance to check them out.

Wildlife value: high. Lots of insects live on them and their flowers attract others, in turn attracting predators. The Wildlife Trusts

Where else can you see one? It feels like there are common lime trees all over Chichester - there's even a Lime Close! As well as fronting the cathedral green (we've given those their own webpages), they line the East Walls nearby, edge St Mary's Churchyard in Whyke Road and dominate the eastern end of Spitalfield Lane. They have the fingerprints of Victorian urban landscaping all over them; modern landscapers are wary of their epicormic growth and the stickiness of honeydew produced by aphids, and they are big trees that suit big spaces. 

Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)

There's one rowan tree at the eastern end of the line of trees north of the New Park Centre's Jubilee Hall. Notice the compound leaves with serrated edges: 5-8 pairs of leaflets and one at the end per leaf stem. Rowans stand out in the landscape when their berries, held in large dangling clusters, turn bright red (from August). Seeds are dispersed by passing through the digestive system of the birds which love to eat them. You may also notice the clusters of creamy-white five-petalled flowers in late Spring.

Tree details at treesandshrubsonline: Rowan. For a briefer overview, try the Woodland Trust, whose webpage includes a lovely short video illustrating "a year in the life" of the tree.

Wildlife value: high. ...

Where else can you see one? Look for the berries cheering up the northern and eastern fringes of the Northgate car park. This is a fairly commonly planted small-ish tree, so you'll notice them more generally too.

Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

Included here from a hastily scribbled list - we need to check this one

Tree details at treesandshrubsonline: Tree of Heaven.

Wildlife value: low? (No information)

Where else can you see one? There's a graceful example at the front of County Hall, in the green space behind Edes House. Find it at TT5 of our City Centre Tree Trail.

Flowering cherry (Prunus family)

There are so many varieties of ornamental cherry that it takes concentration to try to tell them apart! We will need to revisit in Spring to look closely at the blossom and try to work it out. Knowing that one's looking at a cherry, if not which type, is much easier: they have distinctive, often reddish coloured, bark with raised, rough horizontal dark bands.

A useful overview of shapes and characteristics of some common forms is given by Devon nursery, Bohayes Trees. Its month-by-month long-term tree care and pruning schedule also reminds us to "Prune cherries in late spring to early summer – never in winter – to avoid silver leaf disease and bacterial canker. So May or June is ideal for ornamentals."

Wildlife value: ?

Where else can you see one? Everywhere? This is a tree we tend to take for granted until it lifts our spirits with the arrival of blossom in Spring. By way of example, there's a lovely display of different varieties, probably planted in the 1960s, at the top (north) end of Parklands Road; some of the veteran trees along Kingsham Avenue (1950s?) are also flowering cherries; and all of the traditional housing estates will have them. More recently, Japanese Prunus Amanogawa has been a popular choice for highway verge planting, due to its narrow, upright shape. We'd love to see your photos of the flowering cherries you love, and to include some in our Trees Loved listing for this tree.

Other trees in this part of the Gardens:

Details to be added for

• Liquidambar
• Dawn Redwood
• Silver birch
• Field maple
• Deodar
• Sycamore
• Oak (fastigiate form)
• Beech (fastigiate form)