Country Life

TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF

JOHN EVELYN, whose (published in 1664) was the original sounding of the bugle to plant more trees, wasn’t a fan of the sycamore. He wanted the species, with its ‘contaminating’ leaf litter, ‘banished from all curious gardens and avenues’. So the Deptford guru would not have been impressed to hear that, in the 21st century, the sycamore is the most numerous tree type in London. Numerous, but still not loved. There’s not a single one in the list of 61 specimens awarded Great Tree status by the former Countryside Commission and the charity Trees for

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