This sentence has a literal, objective meaning, which every word describing the tree means what it means. So the description has a denotative meaning.
In the other hand, as a poetic device, the connotative meaning is used to amplify the meaning of words, making it subjective, which must be analyzed under the context of phrase (something behind the words). An example of a connotative meaning involving a tree:
"The sun shined very hot making it almost impossible for us to walk any longer at that moment; As we decided to take another path, we knew right away it was a good choice: from the distance a big tree seemed to give us a welcoming smile, and under it we sheltered to rest for a while, giving us the energy to continue our walk"
With the phrase "a welcoming smile" there is a subjective message personifying the tree with a human characteristic, describing it with something that the tree doesn't have, the ability to "smile"., which in the context means that the person found it very nice to have a tree near at that hard moment.
