In memory and dedication to HM Queen Elizabeth II, staff, trustees and volunteers at The Garden House, Buckland Monachorum have planted a special commemorative tree.

During the four days the Queen was lying in state before her funeral, visitors to the garden were invited to lay their floral tributes. From these tributes, compost will be made which will be used to enhance the future growing of the tree.

The Adams Laburnum tree is a horticultural rarity. It is a deciduous tree, featuring both rich pink and golden canary yellow flowers on the same branches, discovered by chance when a French nurseryman unwittingly, yet effectively produced a hybrid between Laburnum and Cytisus purpureus — also known as the Purple Broom.

The result is an abundance of pendulous flowers, which give the tree an elegant look, with the blooms produced in shades of yellow, mauve-pink and sometimes salmon pink — a fitting reminder of the Queen herself.

The tree was planted within the tennis court lawned area of The Garden House by volunteers Jenny and David Miles, who have both given many hours of service and dedication to The Garden House over the past 30 years. A commemorative plaque sits beside the tree.