Purely hypothetically, obviously, if you were going to plant a 100m long double avenue of trees in a field leading to a lake, what would you choose?

[mintydixcharrington]

The idea being that the rest of the field would be planted with parkland specimens (oak, atlas cedar, etc)
I have thoughts (Tilia Cordata, Juglans Nigra but would the nuts be a pain) but would be interested in seeing what the gardeners/landscapers in here suggest

ah now you see old Capability was very Anti Avenues. He liked a much more naturalistic way of planting - lovely groves of trees dotted about artistically

and who's to say he wasn't right?

maybe I should be thinking about dotted groves....

prunus x subhirtella 'autumnalis'

palest single pink flowers on bare stems for five months and autumn colour

i would definitely use a native mix because of the wildlifethey attract.hawthorn cherry blackthorn rowan oak and ash.
her is a thing i read recently about planting hedgerows which i know is a bit different but might help
here

You may call me Lady W, sue

v lovely

It's a pity that you don't like poplars, I was going to suggest the one that has dark green leaves with a silver underside, it looks like shimmering fishscales when the wind blows. I can't remember the name off-hand. There's also a poplar call Tremulens (sp?) that makes the most amazing rushing water type of noise when a breeze blows.

I'm also very fond of rowan, or mountain ash, as the berries are gorgeous. I'm not sure that it's really grand enough for what you have in mind though.

Our local park has a great avenue of limes, but they are quite formal. My parents have a new Elm cultivar which apparently is resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. You might also want to think about trees that are attractive in their youth as well as in 100 years time maybe?

I just don't trust the elm cultivars which are supposedly resistant. they give 10 year guarantees on them - but around here they grow for about that time, make a medium sized tree and then die. They are all dotted around. I'm sure the resistance is getting better but who'd take the risk? Maybe for a single tree but not for an avenue. Not around here.
Sue I slightly miss being pph, might go back to it...

If you live in cetain areas of the SE the councils will give you 25 native trees - so if you were to go native (as it were) your local council may do the same.

(bet they aren't big though)

haven't done anything about the minty blog for ages. have got a bit stuck on her and the russian supermodel - where to go from there?!
don't watch eastenders so luckily I don't know who Min-Ee is, sounds simply HIDEOUS, darling
they are probably teeny aly, which is fine, and I'll plant lots of teeny ones, but since you have to buy them by the 100 and they cost about 80p each, an additional 25 is probably hardly worth the effort of applying for them. I might be able to get a woodland grant - but again the application process is a nightmare and I'd miss the planting season this year....

I would say beech - but I don't think will stand up to global warming well.

Second choice would be ok - they are so majestic. Or maybe yew - they will live for a long time.

that would be oak not ok !

I would investigate trees from more southerly climes - something that stand up to warmer summers.

Silver Birch

Yes, I think oak
not yew (may graze sheep/ponies around and about)

yes. northern pin oak like i said earlier [pointed look]

nappies pin oak are happiest on an acidic soil, which I don't have

they are lovely though, and I have bought one to see how it does, so we'll see... but it isn't the natural soil for it around here

DH will know - I'll ask him later.

oh what a fab thread

I think you should go with whatever has a fabulous colour in the Autumn

vivid red or orange

I had a teary eye on Sunday in my local amazing park, wondrous colourful trees around a lake, mist rising, ducks swimming, ahhhhhh

girls were more interested in the ice cream van but they will learn

One of my favourite places is the Beech Avenue by Badbury rings in Dorset. The trees are pretty ancient now and past their prime so the National Trust have planted new ones down either side to take over. So my vote is for Beech.

Beech. My favourite trees.

lovely

I love trees