End of the summer season…. into tree season.
Winter is one of my favourite times in the garden. The bare trees become stunning skeletal forms with loose, flapping bark set off by a low winter sun. Maybe this year’s ‘Covid winter’ will buck the trend for retreating indoors when the days shorten.
New Trustee Sandy’s social media posts should tempt more people into the garden to enjoy it first-hand. The garden photos (shown here) are now an eye-catching, regular reminder on Instagram and Facebook.
Following the second Lockdown, it is likely to stay very quiet in the garden (but not in the tree lifting and packing areas!) through November into the Spring. If you are able to come, please do. We are glad to be open and continue to offer a safe space for visitors to recharge batteries and enjoy the beauty of the arboretum. We still hope the weeks around Christmas bring a few more visitors to enjoy a quieter outdoor festive season.
Chagford Conservation Group joined us once again, in mid September. A morning of undergrowth removal around a copse of Alnus maximowiczii, freed a group of lovely multi-stemmed shrubs to become more of a feature, with greater impact. Other areas have also been cleared and replanted. The group of imposing Alnus subcordata on the left of the garden, before the Gunnera, has had the invasive pendulous sedge removed and been replanted with attractive grasses from the polytunnel. The rugged, fissured trunks of these fast-growing trees are really shown off to advantage.
Improvement work has also continued around the orange-coloured spring halfway down the left of the garden. Having removed some dead trees and a lot of messy shrub growth some time ago, I had been waiting for some of our own seed grown bog plants to grow large enough to plant out. It was worth the wait.
Rodgersia, candelabra Primula, Eurybia, and Aqualegia, with a swathe of Stipa grass to one side, now fill the boggy areas. All these plants were grown from seed in our polytunnel; a very cost-effective way of adding to the garden. No doubt some plants will perform better than others and we will be tweaking the planting as the area develops.
Nursery
Our grafted trees (and some seed grown Alders) are now out of the polytunnel and into the extended top nursery. Despite delays due to hard dry ground in the summer, the top nursery has been extended and rotavated, ready for the young trees. The extra space will be essential for future years, as we expand the number of trees grown. The content of our oldest compost bin by the toilets was added onto the top nursery before we rotavated. The compost (composed of toilet solids, paper, and some vegetation) was of excellent quality, as everything had broken down beautifully. Well, apart from one slightly bizarre Christmas decoration!
Lifting and dispatching trees with the big barn is in full use once again! Tree reservations come in quietly through the year and build to this annual climax. As usual I have been busy sending invoices to customers for their final payments and arranging deliveries. This all happens through the website. It is certainly an improvement to be able to take deposits through the year and allocate the trees confidently. Fewer last minute changes not only save time but also mean more customers look forward to their first choice trees. We do have trees available with posting for pre Christmas delivery, check the website for the varieties.
We strive for sustainability at all levels in the garden, from toilet compost to the new solar panels and the new solar array takes us to the next level. This would not have been possible without Tim’s dedication and determination to get this funded and approved by the National Park. It powers the tearoom and will soon (if the grant is still available) link to an electric car charge point. This is another important step.
Making it easier to re-use our resources for economy and sustainability, Volunteer Barry has built a lean-to on the side of the wood shed, to house our timber. From now on, any timber we will be using for the various jobs around the estate will be located in this new lean-to. The building was made with materials already on site, with roofing from the demolished old livestock shed.
Every year takes its toll on the equipment and estate: The rotavator, for example, has been sounding and feeling a bit shaky lately, and likely needs a bearing replacing. Barry has agreed to have a look at it over the winter with parts already dismantled and cleaned on a packing shed table. Some estate problems. however, are on a bigger scale.
The top car park is serviceable in dry weather but brings big challenges in the wet! It took Nigel and I, plus Trustee Ruth and her Land Rover, to tow a camper van and out of the mud a couple of weeks ago. There have been others too but that was certainly the biggest. The top car park is now closed for the winter and Trustees have asked me to look again at costings for various surfaces. This will be a significant but necessary cost to find before next season. I will update on progress as we look for grants, help and donations to fund this vital but less exciting area.
New arboretum progress and wildflower meadow: In very short summary, progress is ongoing: Pru has undertaken a plant survey of Kenneth and June’s fields in the new area and working with Moor Meadows to develop the wild-flower meadow plan. Exploration of sheep grazing and hay collection options continue. Keith and I are planning the next stage of the National Collection and Duncan Rice, our Garden Director, continues his work on the next stage of the Design Concept that will enable us to formulate the plan for our initial planting in March 2021. Visitors may be unaware of Duncan’s role and how much we rely on his professional skill, long standing commitment to the arboretum and valuable time – freely given. We will share more details of the plan, with some sketches, in the New Year – after this busy tree season.
I would like to express our great thanks for your ongoing support. It has been a difficult season in many ways but also a successful and productive time in the garden. Much of that success is down to you, the people who support the garden. A special thank you to our brilliant garden volunteers.
A warm welcome to all new Friends!
We brewed coffee, tempted with cake and sanitised anything that moved within range! Not to forget the ‘Tearoom Galley Tango’ of partners preparing warm soup and cream teas at the same time (unlikely to be seen on ‘Strictly’ but no less skillful).
Lorna Young lives in the same house that she and her late husband Bob bought in December 1963. They inherited a secluded, walled garden that had been used exclusively for growing fruit and vegetables. For some years it then became a playground for their three children and visiting friends. Only when the swings and slide fell out of use did they think of planting it for their own enjoyment.
