SPRING IN BERLIN: TREES IN THE CITY

Spring in a Berlin courtyard.

Unter den Linden, Lindenstraße, Akazienstraße, Kastanienallee – it is hard to tell exactly how many Berlin streets are named after trees but anyone who ever profited from the bounty of local parks or looked out of their window at the green myriad of whispering leaves will know: Berlin is the greenest capital in Europe. And it´s official, too.

The German capital has approximately 440,000 trees growing in municipal spaces such as streets, plazas, parks, playgrounds and cemeteries (yes, they, too, fall into this category). That is plenty. But add to it another 20 million of oaks, linden and birches standing in the city forests and the picture gets almost too green to bear.

Mind you, those numbers must not be treated as final – they do not include trees growing in areas of the city not controlled by the local authorities or those decorating private…