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The area known today as Central Gardens and Upper Gardens is shown on early maps as a stretch of marshy valley.

The Upper Gardens run north of the Square all the way up to Bournemouth’s boundary with Poole at Surrey Road. Records show that the area consisted of 30 acres of wet meadow either side of the Bourne stream and was owned by the Durrant family from 1851. The gothic style water tower was built in the 1860’s and was used to house a header tank which was fed by a waterwheel powered by the Bourne stream. This water source helped irrigate the surrounding flower beds and powered an ornamental fountain.

Extensive planting was undertaken throughout the gardens in 1874. W & D Stuart of Ferndown Nurseries in Wimborne, Dorset, supplied 3,915 trees and ornamental shrubs. The trees ordered reflect the Victorian taste for planting exotic species, including Monkey Puzzle, Deodar Cedar and Silver Fir trees.

In 1992 the Upper Gardens were re-furbished to provide a

variety of walks with interesting vistas and areas for passive

recreation. Shrub planting has been chosen to provide interest

at different times of the year. Differing cutting regimes help to

create a diverse range of grass habitats.

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121a

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Commercial Road Gervis Place

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History of the Gardens

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Mimosa (Acacia dealbata)

A native of Australia and one of the hardiest Acacias. A member of the Pea family it is occasionally seen as a garden tree in the area. It has feathery, doubly-compound evergreen foliage and it flowers in late winter giving a splendid display of yellow. This tree is also known as Silver Wattle, which is perhaps a better name as there is a genus of herbs and shrubs known as Mimosa. The example here forks very low and gives the tree a good broad crown. It is on the left soon after you re-enter the gardens at the edge of an enclosed area sometimes called Paradise.

Tree Privet (Ligustrum lucidum)

A native of China and an unusual tree, especially of this size (this is one of the largest in Britain). It is a relative of the familiar privet used as a hedge and the leaves are similar: oval and pointed, glossy on one side and matt the other. The trunk is divided almost to ground level, it is evergreen and from mid summer yellow-white flower spikes develop.It can be found immediately in front of the play area.

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Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

A native of south-east USA and Mexico which was introduced in 1681. The leaves are maple-like with five finely-toothed, sharply-pointed lobes which, unlike maples, are alternate on the shoot. This tree is at its best in autumn when the leaves turn a splendid mix of yellow, red and purple. Occasionally spiny, pendulous fruit may be produced, which resemble those

of a Plane. The specimen tree here is a fine tall, narrow tree.

The boardwalk allows the public

to walk through an area of wet

meadow which contains Yellow

Iris, Ragged Robin, Meadowsweet and

Cuckoo Flower. These plants encourage

Orange Tip, Brimstone and Small

Tortoiseshell butterflies to the area. Also a

number of dragonfly and damselfly species

can be found here looking for smaller

insects to feed on.

‘a’ denotes second example of the

same species.Commercial Road Gervis Place

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The war memorial, designed by EA Shervey, Bournemouth’s deputy architect and dedicated

to Bournemouth’s fallen of WWI, was unveiled in November 1922 by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire.

Commercial Road Gervis Place

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The pergola was installed in 1990 to mark the centenary of the Borough.

It was built from sections of a Victorian veranda salvaged from Boscombe precinct when the Sovereign Centre was constructed. Commercial Road Gervis Place

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14 Hornbeam (Carpinus betula)

The only native tree featured on the trail. This tree is often confused

with Beech, of which there are many fine examples in the gardens, although it is more closely related to Birches. Like Beech the bark is smooth and grey but often has vertical snake-like marks. The leaves are finely-toothed, unlike Beech, and have 10-13 pairs of

close, impressed veins. In spring the tree bears yellow catkins and in autumn distinctive hanging fruit with 3-lobed bracts (two short, one long). Hornbeam means ‘hard tree’ and was named after its exceptionally hard wood.

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Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)

This tree is also known as Giant Sequoia or Giant Redwood. It is native to the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in the western United States. This is a truly impressive species, being both the world’s largest and one of the oldest (over 3000 years old). As it was introduced to Britain only in 1853 all the trees in this country are just babies despite their size (up to 50m) and up to 85m elsewhere in the world. It is identified by its soft, fibrous thick reddish-brown bark. The trunk is usually flared at the base. The leaves are 8mm long and are sharp-pointed which makes the foliage rough to the touch. The tree here is typical in having foliage sweeping down to ground level.

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Swamp Cypress (Taxodium distichum)

Native to the south-east United States, this tree tends to inhabit swamps and stream banks. Beneath this tree note the woody ‘knees’ (growths from the roots), an adaptation which helps the tree in swampy ground. The bark is grey-brown and thin but rough with a prominent fluted and buttressed base. The leaves are alternate, soft and flattened, arranged either spreading or spirally. Specimens of 30 metres high are not uncommon in Britain. Unusually for a conifer this tree is deciduous and the leaves turn red-brown in autumn. There are another two specimens (10a) one earlier and one at the end of the trail.

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Tree Trail

Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa)

From the same area as the Monterey Pine where it is confined to two cliff tops. Introduced to Britain in 1838 it is now a familiar sight in this area as it is very salt tolerant. The largest of the true cypresses, it has plumes of foliage which are not flattened. The bark is grey and stringy. It has shiny brown, squarish cones up to 3 cm across, which take two years to develop, so

there are usually some at different stages of development held on the tree.

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Caucasian Wingnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia)

A member of the walnut family, it is a quick growing tree to 30m in height with a short, thick trunk, originating from the Caucasus and northern Iran. It was first introduced to Britain in 1810. It can be identified by its glossy dark pinnate leaves, up to 60cm long, with up to 23 unstalked slightly toothed leaflets. Its most distinguishing

feature is its fruit, a small nut, surrounded by two semi-circular, green wings, borne on slender, hanging catkins to 50cm long. In winter the buds are unusual in having no scales to protect the young leaf.

3 Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)

Another huge tree from the north-west of North America. This is not a true cedar but is related to the cypresses. The featured tree stands by The Bourne. The foliage is similar to the Monterey Cypress seen earlier but the foliage is quite glossy, flattened

and, at 3mm wide, broader than other trees with similarly flattened foliage sprays. The underside of the leaf shows dull white marks sometimes likened to a butterfly pattern. Try crushing a small sample – it should smell quite sweet, sometimes likened to pineapples. A number of cultivars of this tree have been developed and there are a number of examples of one called ‘Zebrina’ in the gardens (11a). This has pale yellow and green foliage. This tree is also occasionally used for hedging.

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Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)

Until discovered growing in China in 1941, this tree had been seen only as a fossil and was deemed extinct. It was introduced to the West in 1948. It is a vigorous deciduous conifer with bright green foliage turning to fantastic colours in the autumn. Unlike true Redwoods (Sequoia) it has opposite shoots and leaflets. The bark is orangey-brown and stringy. Look out later for one of the largest twin-stemed Dawn Redwoods in Britain (1a) and probably one of the earliest to be planted here.

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Paper-bark Birch (Betula papyrifera)

A native of North America. This tree is notable for its bark which is a dull white with fine dark bands and horizontally peeling strips, used by native North Americans for canoes. The tree is sometimes called Canoe Birch for this reason. The leaves are large for a birch with relatively few veins.A small specimen of another birch with very white bark can be seen to

the right of this tree; this is a variety of Himalayan Birch (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii).

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2 Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata)

Native to coastal Monterey, California, it was discovered in 1831 and grows to 35m or more. Bournemouth is famous for its pines and many of these are this species. They can be recognised by their often large size and dark rugged bark. Needles are in clusters of 3, bright green and up to 15cm long. The cones are about 10 cm long, asymmetrical at base and can stay on the tree for many

years. They often grow direct from the branches. This pine can grow very fast, sometimes increasing its girth by 5cm in one year!

Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

A native of Oregon and California, this tree can grow to 100m or more, and live for 400-500 years. One in California is thought to be the tallest tree in the world at 112m, and one felled in 1943 was aged at 2,200 years old! It is able to re-grow after being coppiced, (rare in conifers), and its bark is thick, red-brown, spongy and fibrous, with broad ridges. Its needles are dark green

above with two distinct parallel white bands on the underside. The needles lie alternately on the shoot unlike the Dawn Redwood.

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River Birch (Betula nigra)

A native of eastern North America this birch tends to inhabit swampy ground and riverbanks, hence its name. Brought to Europe in 1736. Its bark initially is a pinkish grey-brown, which exfoliates a mass of curled papery scales becoming thick, dark brown and ridged with time. As an ornamental

tree they are often cut back to encourage multiple stems which shows off its peeling bark to excellent effect. There are two trees here.

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London Plane (Platanus x hispanica)

This tree is one of the most common street trees in London, hence the name. The bark is a patchwork of grey and brown which flakes away to reveal paler areas beneath. This allows the tree to remove the dirt it collects. The leaves are maple-like with five lobes but alternate. Fruit are spiky balls which hang in groups, often throughout the winter, which helps to identify the tree when there are no leaves. This tree is a cross between two other species; hence the x in the botanic name. The tree here is covered in burrs (bulgy growths on the trunk). Note how the tree has grown round an old metal fence at the base.

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Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica)

Found as a native south of the Caspian Sea, it was introduced in 1841. This is a small tree and is found throughout the gardens. Its wood is very hard with mottled grey-brown bark and often forks low with the branches twisting

up and outwards. In early spring red flowers emerge from black buds but it is in autumn when this tree really shows off. Leaves start turning purple in late summer and then become a riot of reds and yellows.

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This Tree Trail will take approximately 2 hours to complete and highlights some of the trees found in the Upper and Central Gardens.During your walk you will surely come across other species equally interesting and beautiful and if you’d like to know more about them, why not think about becoming a Tree Warden - contact us for details.

Arboricultural TeamTrees in Bournemouth Gardens, parks and open spaces are managed by the Arboricultural team, Parks operations. Any concerns or queries concerning these trees can be made by contacting the Leisure Service Arboricultural team on 01202 451682.

Tree WardensThere is a thriving Tree Warden Network within the Bournemouth area, run independently from, but supported by the Council. Tree Wardens are local volunteers who are champions of trees. They get involved in local tree matters and take part in practical projects associated with trees. They work in close liaison with Arboricultural and Parks Officers, who provide training and support. Tree Wardens assist the officers by reporting any concerns or issues.They also act as a useful link between Council officers and the general public. For more information about Tree Wardens, and how to become one, please ring 07812 163624.