Key plants in the Lion King Anniversary Garden

A spreading, medium-sized deciduous tree with smooth grey bark and neatly toothed, lance-shaped leaves turning orange and yellow in autumn.

A bushy, spiny, medium to large deciduous shrub or small tree. The ash-like leaves are up to 8cm long with up to 11 broad leaflets. Flat-topped sprays of small, yellow-green flowers are produced in early summer, followed by open clusters of small, red fruits that split open to reveal black seeds. Leaves, bark and fruit are all aromatic.

Syn. Citrus trifoliata. Chosen for its unusual thorns, an ornamental citrus tree prized for its fragrant white blooms and sharp tasting lemons amongst its glossy, oval leaves, born on stems that carry stout spines.

A large, elegant, deciduous tree to a height of 30m or more. The trunk and stems are spiny - some of these spines are up to 15cm long. The leaves are made up of many oval-shaped tiny, dark green leaflets, which turn yellow in autumn. Small-green-white flowers are produced in summer and if it has been a long hot summer, long, twisted brown seed pods follow in autumn. Common names include, honey locust, sweet locust, three-thorned acacia.


(Pictured: Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Sunburst’.)

With impressive torch-like flowers in hot, zesty colours, kniphofias light up borders throughout summer and into autumn. Also known as red-hot pokers, this upright clump-forming perennial comes in various sizes, to suit all positions in a border, with smaller ones suitable for containers too.

(Pictured: Kniphofia ‘Bressingham Comet’)

A large, elegant, deciduous tree to a height of 30m or more. The trunk and stems are spiny - some of these spines are up to 15cm long. The leaves are made up of many oval-shaped tiny, dark green leaflets, which turn yellow in autumn. Small-green-white flowers are produced in summer and if it has been a long hot summer, long, twisted brown seed pods follow in autumn. Common names include, honey locust, sweet locust, three-thorned acacia.


(Pictured: Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Sunburst’.)