11. Giant redwoods

Planted in about 1970 at the bottom of the garden the Sequoia sempervirens (California redwoods) are already tall stately trees, it is compelling to touch the soft, fibrous, red-brown bark as you walk by. Some of the other trees here are American buckeye, Staphylea colchica (Bladder nut) and a Paulownia with its lilac coloured foxglove-like flowers, in another part of the garden you can see a Paulownia that has been pruned to encourage enormous leaves but this stops it flowering. Underneath all are the aromatic Ramsons (Wild garlic) and masses of Bluebells.