Powercourt Estate in Co. Wicklow is now home to the tallest tree in Ireland after a Douglas fir tree was measured at a staggering 61.5 metres, or 202 feet. It's over 150 years old, planted along with dozens of other trees by the seventh Viscount Powerscourt in the 1860s.
Taller trees are a wonderful investment for larger gardens as they make really head-turning focus points, adding a sense of permanence and dignity to your landscape. You don't have to accommodate a 60m Douglas fir to have a large tree, either: as they develop, tall trees give pleasure for decades before they outgrow their welcome, after which you can always cut them down and replace them.
Give your statement tree a prominent spot, in the centre of a lawn for example where you can enjoy it to the full. Winter is the perfect time to plant a new tree from the selection in our garden centre: perhaps the fabulously beautiful tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) with green and orange tulip shaped flowers in July, or a red oak (Quercus rubra) whose leaves turn a deep, warm scarlet in autumn. Other good choices include maple-like Liquidambar styraciflua, white-barked Betula pendula, or a spreading walnut tree, Juglans nigra.
