Pinetums in the UK

The most famous Pinetum in the UK is without doubt Bedgebury. The International Conifer Conference has been quoted as stating that Bedgebury Pinetum as "the best conifer collection in the world on one site".

According to the Forestry Commission the Bedgbury Pinetum contains over 10,000 tree specimens throughout the 320 acres. It has been state owned since 1919.



It's worth revisiting the term Pinetum and what it actually once again we turn to the Forestry Commission

Conifers are cone-bearing trees, and a Pinetum is a collection of cone-bearing trees. Cone-bearers include pines (Pinus.), spruces (Picea), larches (Larix), firs (Abies) and cedars (Cedrus) among others. Most, but not all, are 'evergreen' and conifers account for the largest (Sequoiadendron giganteum) ,the giant redwood, and the oldest trees on our planet (Pinus longaeva), at 4767 years old.

Divert and distract

I see my hopes for the future well being of Pinetum have attracted a mischevious comment from one TS Morris asking 'how is Right Price Furniture doing?" Asking about one of the advertisers on this blog is a classic diversionary tactic used to distract people away from the existing question concerning Pinetum - I'm sure the former porn writer and Labour spin doctor Alistair Campbell would be proud of you.

So TS Morris, if you can correct (or confirm) the situation at Pinetum, I'd be happy to hear from you...

Is Pinetum feeling a little off colour?

I'm delighted to see Pinetum has launched two new oak furniture ranges, the Florence and Pantone ranges. These are, from what I can gather, the same range offered in a choice of wood finishes as the Florence range or a choice of painted colour finishes as the Pantone range.

The name Pantone will be a familiar one to anyone working in the design or print industries as it is the name of a New Jersey printing company that, back in the 1950s, produced a colour reference chart which has since become the universal colour reference scheme. "What's the Pantone reference?" has become the quick and reliable way for a printer in one part of the world to exactly match the colours wanted by a designer in another part of the world. Pantone reference books should be changed periodically to avoid problems associated with the discoloration that inevitably occurs with age.

But back to Pinetum. I've heard a rumour that it's order books are running seriously light at the moment, which cannot be a good thing. I wish them every success with the new ranges and hope that some British retailer (how about 'The Partnership'?) starts taking on one or more of their ranges. It would be a sad day for the UK furniture industry - and its customers - should anything happen to this British manufacturer.

Greenwash 2

Delighted to hear from Laura at Pinetum about their plant a tree promotion. She concedes that sending oak trees to customers may "overpower their gardens" but still maintains there is no problem in planting a Norway Spruce - yet even their suppliers, the little Christmas Tree Company, say that Norway Spruce will grow up to 140ft tall!

C'mon Laura, I agree it is a great idea to encourage more trees to be planted and I fully support that. But surely a non-native species that grows up to 140ft tall is not the answer? This is more likely to put people off trees than engender admiration?

How about a nice flowering Cherry? or Chinese Rowan? These are still not native but are more decorative and only grow to about 30ft tall - much more manageable than 140ft. Alternatively, consider the native Hazel. This is classified as a shrub because it is short in height but it is not unattractive, produces catkins in the spring, is good for butterflies and wildlife and can produce hazelnuts. As a boy we used the hazel for making thumbsticks, for hedging repairs and enjoyed collecting the nuts in the autumn.

Green or Greenwash?

Having had another look in more detail at Pinetum's scheme to encourage customers to plant trees, I am undecided as to whether it's a great idea or just a cynical manipulation of environmental concerns.

They are sending customers seedlings of Norway Spruce (Picea abies) which, if you didn't know, is the traditional species of Christmas Tree. Now, in the right environment, these wonderful trees will grow at the rate of 1ft (300mm) a year so if you plant your new tree in your back garden and it manages to survive, it will soon take up a fair amount of space and light. Not only that, but it will keep growing at a foot a year all the way up to 180ft if you let it, although its roots will have been destroying underground pipes, cables and foundations long before that making you very popular with the neighbours.

What I'm saying is that this isn't a suitable species for the garden. Further, it will only enrage some of the more fundamentalist conservationists because it is not a native species so would not be welcome if planted on a large scale (Christmas tree production excepted).

As a fan of forestry, I applaud Pinetum's motives in getting people interested in tree production but I just wonder if they could have found a more appropriate species - something that was either more suitable for gardens or more acceptable as a forestry species?

In forestry it is an accepted fact that you harvest what was planted by your predecessors and plant what will be harvested by your sucessors. I hate to think of trees being cut down or ripped up after only a few years because they were the wrong species or in the wrong place.

Pinetum Furniture Launch Plant a Tree

Pinetum has launched a scheme where they will plant tree's to reduce to carbon footprint.

Pinetum News

Pinetum is launching a new eco-friendly initiative aiming to get our customers planting trees and reducing their carbon footprint. For every order of Pinetum furniture, customers will be able to claim a free sapling to plant in their garden.

This is a good PR for a company that almost went bankrupt a few months ago!

Good Quality furniture - but a bit confusing?

I've just had another look at the Pinetum Furniture website to see what's changed if anything. I must say it does look very stylish and, in all fairness, the quality of the furniture - which is made in the UK - is very good. However (there had to be a however, didn't there!) I must confess to finding the layout of the site and the naming of the ranges both a little confusing. Now, and not least because many people surfing the internet do so illicitly during working hours, it seems logical to make websites and ranges as clear as possible.

By comparison, I think that the website of Right Price Furniture is actually very clear to navigate. You can look for furniture by bedroom, living room or dining room; you can search by genre - such as oak, pine or painted or you can search for specific items such as chairs, tables and so on. OK, so Right Price Furniture's website may not be quite so stylish and they are retailers that don't make their own furniture in the UK, but they do offer some very good quality furniture at very reasonable prices - check out the ranges of oak furniture for example from their supplier Devonshire Pine Ltd.

I suppose it depends on whether you want to enjoy surfing stylish furniture websites or prefer furniture websites that give you all the information in a straightforward no-nonsense fashion...