I visited Copenhagen in July 2023, and found some remarkable trees in the four days that I was there, all in the central part of the city. Some were in Copenhagen’s very nice botanical garden, some in the King’s Garden, one in the city’s best art museum (!), and one in a pot just outside the home where we stayed. See below!

Lavalle hawthorns (Crataegus X lavallei) adjacent to the Little Mermaid

Perhaps the most famous tourist attraction in Copenhagen is the “Little Mermaid”. Some of our friends told us not to bother, but we were strolling along the water on our first day in the City, and ran across it. Just adjacent to the Little Mermaid was a small grove of Lavalle hawthorns (Crataegus X lavallei).

The King’s Garden (also known as Rosenborg Garden) in central Copenhagen is the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen - it was established in the early 17th century as the private garden of King Christian IV's Rosenborg Castle, which is adjacent. It’s full of stately mature trees that are happy in northern Europe.

White willow (*Salix alba*) in the King’s Garden

Common lime or European lime (*Tilia X Europaea*) in the King’s Garden

I don’t normally expect to find landmark trees in art museums, but just inside the entrance to the Glyptoteket (Copenhagen’s best art museum) was this nice example specimen of a Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis).

Canary Island date palm (*Phoenix canariensis*) in the Glyptoteket

And Copenhagen has a lovely botanical garden in center city. It was raining off and on the day I visited, but in between the showers I found some trees worth noting. Just inside the gate on the left was an empress tree (Pawlonia tomentosa) - easily identifiable by the huge leaves and distinctive seeds.

empress tree - closeup of leaves and fruits

If you stay to the left after entering the garden, eventually you will reach this sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa). I didn’t find man of these in Scandinavia on our trip, so it caught my eye.

sweet chestnut (closeup - leaves and fruits)

I think the most impressive grouping of trees were on a small hill near the center of the garden. Side by side were two trees that are actually fairly close relatives - a dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) right next to a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). The coast redwood is the tallest tree in the world, and the dawn redwood was thought to have been extinct (known only from fossil records) until a specimen was discovered in central China in 1941.

A dawn redwood (*Metasequoia glyptostroboides*) on the left, right next to a coast redwood (*Sequoia sempervirens*) on the right

And just behind these two, another close relative of both - a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), native to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Central California. This is the tree that is the most massive tree in the world, and it was in the bloom of health here in Copenhagen!

We stayed very close to “Churchillparken” (Churchill Park) in Copenhagen, and as I meandered there one day, I ran across this spectacular specimen of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus). We don’t see this tree much in my hometown of San Francisco, so it was a treat to find it (and many others nearby).

sycamore maple (*Acer pseudoplatanus*) in Churchillparken (Churchill park)

And not too far away, next to one of the many canals, a weeping willow (Salix babylonica).

weeping willow (*Salix babylonica*) in Churchill Park

And finally, I think it’s a little cold for this tree in Copenhagen, but just outside the home where we were staying was this baby monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). I’m sure it will be brought inside for the winter!