Bluebell Arboretum is an arboretum and associated plant nursery near the village of

Smisby Smisby is an ancient manor, civil parish and small village in South Derbyshire, England. It is from Melbourne and near the Leicestershire border

South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population of the local authority at the 2011 Census was 94,611. It contains a third of the National Forest, and the council offices are in Swadlincote. The district ...

, England. It is a

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

recommended garden, comprising a large selection of rare trees, shrubs and climbers growing in a

woodland garden A woodland garden is a garden or section of a garden that includes large trees and is laid out so as to appear as more or less natural woodland, though it is often actually an artificial creation. Typically it includes plantings of flowering shru ...

. Planting was started by the owners, Suzette and Robert Vernon (a

committee member and Chelsea Flower Show judge) in 1992 on what was then a six acre (2.2 hectare) meadow, just under 500 feet (150 metres) above sea level. The arboretum was officially opened by Roy Lancaster, OBE VMH in 1997, and has since been expanded and is now open to the public throughgout the year, excluding Sundays during the winter months. Bluebell Arboretum Autumn

In the garden emphasis is placed on its educational potential; its collection is extensive and well-labelled and there are many posters describing points of botanical/ecological interest, designed to stimulate further interest in trees, especially amongst younger visitors. The collection includes numerous species and cultivars from Northern Asia, North America and other

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

regions around the world; it includes cultivars of ''

Cornus kousa ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

'' (Chinese dogwood), ''

Liquidambar styraciflua American sweetgum (''Liquidambar styraciflua''), also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temper ...

'' (American sweetgum), ''

Liriodendron ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

'' (tulip tree) and various ''

Betula A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 t ...

'' (birch) species, as well as other woody plants from many different genera. Bluebell Arboretum Spring

The arboretum includes a 2007 planting of 75 ''

Sequoiadendron giganteum ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus '' Sequoiad ...

'', the well-known giant redwood from the mountains of Southern California, and this area of the arboretum is intended to become a redwood grove in the future. Britain's first "Singing Sequoia" was commissioned in BlueBell Arboretum in spring, 2013; this automated musical and educational feature is amongst a group planting of Coastal Redwoods, which fully-grown in California are the tallest trees in the world. The aim of this planting is to create a small-scale representation of a Californian redwood forest, complete with sword ferns, 'Polystichum munitum', growing beneath the redwoods and skunk cabbages, 'Lysichiton americanus', in a nearby damp area. In May 2004, the arboretum was given the 'Greenwatch Award' by Derbyshire County Council for Environmental Sustainability, and was featured for its autumn colour in October 2007 in the BBC's

Gardeners' World ''Gardeners' World'' is a long-running British gardening programme, first broadcast on 5 January 1968. The 2022 series is the 53rd. Its first series was presented by Ken Burras and came from Oxford Botanical Gardens. Up until 2020 most of its e ...

. The arboretum also regularly holds open days for the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

charity.

References

{{coord, 52.766, -1.491, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Gardens in Derbyshire Woodland gardens