A TREE planting ceremony at a Worcestershire beauty spot marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of renowned landscape architect "Capability" Brown.

The anniversary is being marked with hundreds of trees being planted in gardens he designed with the focal point of the celebrations happening at Croome, near Pershore, which is regarded as one of his most significant landscape designs.

To mark the start of the celebrations on Tuesday, National Trust director-general Dame Helen Ghosh planted cedar of Lebanon tree at Croome.

The tree was chosen in recognition of Brown’s use of cedars in so many of his designed landscapes.

Brown gained his nickname because he would tell clients their estates had great "capability" for improvements to the landscape.

His work at Croome involved digging up formal gardens, draining marshland to create new lakes and streams and even moving an entire village out of sight.

Many of the trees and shrubs planted by Brown survive in the park today, but many others were lost during the decline of the landscape in the 20th century.

The planting at Croome is part of a 10-year effort to restore the park to its former glory.

Katherine Alker, garden and park manager at Croome, said: "Over the last decade, and together with a great team of volunteers, we have worked tirelessly to replant the parkland at Croome, as Brown would have intended it.

“This has included replanting more than 10,000 trees to Brown’s original design, often using GPS technology to be sure that new trees are lined up with those shown on the 18th century plans of the park and are planted with pinpoint accuracy. During 2016 around 500 trees will be replanted as this work to reinstate Brown’s original design continues."

At the planting ceremony Dame Helen said: "Capability Brown was one of this country’s greatest landscape gardeners. Not only did he design or advise on over 250 landscapes in this country over four decades, but his influence spread throughout Europe.

"He created works of art in nature and we are proud to look after some of his most complete landscapes for the public to enjoy. We look forward to celebrating his achievements over the coming months through our events, tree plantings and continuing conservation work."

The National Trust is carrying out other tree plantings this spring in significant Capability Brown gardens at Sheffield Park, East Sussex; Stowe, Buckinghamshire; Wimpole, Cambridgeshire; Dinefwr, Carmarthenshire; and Wallington, Northumberland.