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Hello IonaCarr, I make it Gardenia.

And yes, I quite enjoyed the puzzle too. It's only the stance of the setter that I find absurd. I've been on fast trains in France, Germany and Japan and UK is just such a disappointment. Quicker trains would reduce the need for air travel...I think the objection is mostly a home counties thing. If you said to someone living in Wick, we'll do you a 2 hour service to Edinburgh, I'm sure they'd say variously, "You're kidding", "Yes", and "When ?" If you asked them about the trees that would need felling, I'm guessing they'd just laugh at you.

Thanks, Meursault, I'd gone quite spectacularly wrong, coming up with ZILBEE (I'm hazy about apiculture but assumed that 'bee' could be an ex-queen). The country was thus Belize. Isn't it surprising how a duff idea can take root, obscuring other options?

The same could be said about opposition to HS2. But is Hedge-sparrow actually taking a stance? The phrase is usually just an admission of mystification. If anything, his/her stance is to approve of the removal of those things that obscure the route (which is retained).

Don't forget Italy (the superb Freccia... services) and Spain, arguably the best of the lot. Oh, and yes, the Wickers would laugh at you, but only because there ain't any trees at all along the line at least as far as Helmsdale, nor any worth worrying about between Inverness and Blair Atholl.

Not so spectacularly wrong, Iona; I too was held up by entering ZILBEE, having ELLE at 3 down, which works as well as the correct entry. I think I'm with Mersault; I love travelling by train in Italy and France. Rail travel can be a grim experience in this country. Having said that, the slow train from Wick to Auld Reekie sounds rather appealing too

All complete but I cannot parse 37 across. Any hints gratefully received.

to (until) engulfed in (inundated with) letters of alphabet

I wonder if some people are missing the point about the setter's stance on the matter. Given his pseudonym it's pretty obvious why he takes the stance he does.

Well, the Listener Crossword website gives us the setter's name as R. Pinnock; Wikipedia says that 'the name can mean little hillock from the Celtic "pennuc" or "pennoc" but also a possibility of a nickname of someone who may have resembled a hedge sparrow from Middle English'. So the setter's crucinom doesn't indicate per se any sylvan sympathies.

I still can't see where so many people are getting the idea that the stance is hostile to the project. Never mind, Hedge-Sparrow's puzzles are always ingenious, fair and full of thematic material, making this one (sorry, sorry, sorry) a typical offering from H-S too.

I had zilbee too, doh. Am I alone in finding gardenia a bit of a stretch as one of the huggable items that might be culled for the project? As for HS's stance, I'm not sure that he is really making much comment either way, I quite enjoyed this one.

Yes I agree a bit of licence taken with Gardenia - but enjoyed h-s contribution as usual. In fact I was only aware of the shrubs - Unaware of the trees of the species in India/Africa etc over 10m tall. But pretty sure none of these would survive outside in our climate.

Accepted that most of Caithness is barren, however its western neighbour has much forestation. Further south, on the run from Inverness down to Kingussie, it is almost constant forest apart from the very top of Slochd summit. I know, I've walked through most of these forests, there's a good expanse of them.

Accepted also that I may have been mistaken about the setter's stance. But why else combine the theme project with a subsidiary theme of deforestation ?