Trees on Rezervat Lokrum, Dubrovnik, Croatia

First and foremost, I must say that I am a little gutted I didn’t get many good shots of trees whilst over in Croatia. Of course, the point of going on holiday isn’t to live through the lens of a camera, but I missed an opportunity as there really were some incredible trees. One such place was Rezervat Lokrum, an island just off of the coast of Dubrovnik.

The island, which had a glorious little arboretum filled to the brim with eucalypts, palms, cypress, and cacti, was actually damaged during the civil war (according to a sign in the arboretum), though thankfully many individuals remain. The purpose of this arboretum was, according to the very same sign, to ‘trial’ exotic species that were considered to be able to fare well in the Mediterranean environment. To me, it seemed like many were faring well! There was also a truly magnificent perimeter walk, which it seemed only me and my girlfriend walked (we saw nobody else whatsoever), with some awesome views and some very cool pines along the way.

Below, I have included a few pictures from the island that I think are particularly good. Granted, they don’t capture the essence of the island fully by any stretch of the imagination, though they evoke good memories on my end! I hope they are of some use to you as you look over them, also.

This is a serious co-dominant stem on a eucalypt! I actually dread to think of the loading upon that union. Oddly, the stem below doesn’t seem to be much larger than the two stems above, which is a little surprising. Perhaps it’s a reiterating trunk of sorts, instead, and the main stem heads off to the left?

An area of what I seem to recall were olives. Some welcome shade from the searing heat of late June, as well (and not only for visitors, but for the disconcertingly large population of peacocks, too). The tree on the right has some wonderful bark texture to it.

Near to the old ruins of a church or monastery were some lovely gardens (I think they were an extension of the arboretum). In this image, we can observe a wide variety of plants and trees. I am particularly fond of the very upright cypresses in the background.

A different view of the ruins allows us to take a better look at these cypresses. Could indeed be a good street tree!

Way off on the island’s perimeter trail, we came across this pine overlooking the vast sea beyond. What a view!

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