English Elm

Cherry

By Ed Crane

Fri, 18 Apr 2025
  • 234 reads
6 comments
 

Gone are the days when graceful giants 

filled hedgerows and ancient village greens.

Dappled shade of countless oval leaves 

mourned by lovers who lay beneath their

benevolent gift and children dared by friends

to ascend into their strong welcoming limbs. 

 

Invaded by foreign foes from far away 

lacking resistance to greedy spore merely

ailing distant cousins in colder climes.

Surviving offspring doomed to never reach

maturity, succumb too soon in adolescence.

Forgotten spaces filled as England changes.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmus_minor_%27Atinia%27#/media/File:English_Elm_at_Powderham.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmus_minor_%27Atinia%27#/media/File:World_Champion_English_elm.JPG

Certificate U
Poem
Nature

Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

I don't really remember the great elms, I'm sorry to say, but I have always loved the distinctive seeds with their circular wing, and get so excited when I see them in a hedgrow. They make a lovely pattern against a blue sky. I think it is that while they stay small in hedgrows they don't attract the beetles? Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

I always love it when one poem inspires another - thank you for this little gem, and also for the fascinating links below. It was so sad that such an important part of our landscape was wiped out - and now it's the turn of box I believe ? All those beautiful parterres!

 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

I will never forget the beautiful Elm outside My Aunt and Uncle's house on the stud farm where they lived. I used to holiday there as a child, it was the first thing we saw as Dad's car drove up the drive. Also the magnifcent specimins on Roydon Green near where I lived all perished, such a sad sight to see the rotting stumps long after their corpses were removed

 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

I could never decide whether Elms or Oaks were the most beautiful. Both so typical of the English countryside in their day. One of the things I miss living here, giant standing oaks are a pretty rare sight, I have to go to France to see anything similar.

Lucky there are a few ancient English Elms left, I didn't know those on the south coast were not affected due to a quirk of climate. 

I didn't know Box were in danger, I'll check that.

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Ed,

I could identify with your wonderful poem. I also loved the photos. How wonderful to see that huge Elm in the Crystal Palace...simply beautiful.

Back when I was a child in the 1960s, we had Elms growing in the woods right outside our back gate, but sadly they got infected with Dutch Elm disease, which is so sad.

Like you said in your poem, they give wonderful shade from the hot sun, and are so amazing to look at.

Thank you so much for sharing this poem. I really enjoyed reading.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

For me Oaks and Elms typified the English landscape I knew when I was growing up. So sad to lose one of these great icons. Your poem reminded me of one particular Elm tree I played under with my cousins when I holidayed in Sussex on the race horse stud where my uncle worked. We were all devestated when it died. Then we lost about four on the village green in the early 70s.

Just four of million lost in those days.