Rare handkerchief tree in flower at Oxley Hall
The rare twenty-foot handkerchief tree in the grounds of Oxley Hall, between Bardon Grange and Weetwood Lane, is now in flower.
picture by Andrew Lydon
The Times used to print a notice announcing when the handkerchief tree, or Davidia involucrata vilmoriniana, in Kew Gardens was in flower. Londoners, in enormous numbers, took the tube to Kew each May to see the handkerchief tree covered in tiers of enormous white flowers, nearly a foot in diameter - which do indeed look like pinched white handkerchiefs hanging from the branches.
Although the tree at Oxley is not as large as the one at Kew, it is an impressive sight and worth a visit.