South Croydon - Wettern Tree Gardens (London)

Thanks to Jack for letting us know about this Giant Redwood tree location in South Croydon. The photographs were taken in March 2021. He wrote, "This tree garden near me had at least 3 mature and 1 youngster. Strangely the founder Eric Wettern planted a Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia directly next to each other which makes for an interesting display, they both seem happy there despite such close proximity." The garden was originally called "Roselands" and was owned by Eric Wettern. When returning from the First World War he began to plant trees and his particular interest was conifers, including Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) which had been grown from seed in 1922. Eric spent 47 years tending his "beloved garden" and when handing it over to Croydon Council in 1965 he said "When I started the garden I knew nothing at all about trees, and it has been very much a case of trial and error". He remained a Trustee of the Garden until he died in 1975 aged 85 and, in accordance with his wishes, his ashes were scattered beneath the pines.