Trees, please... large or small, they complete any garden
As autumn takes a grip on our woodlands, giving us some spectacular displays of colour, Agnes Stevenson says we should add some trees to our own gardens
Finally I’ve managed to remove all the overgrown shrubs that were taking up space in my flower border and I’ve replenished the soil with a load of leaf mould.
Leaf mould is better than gold dust. It add humous and texture to tired soils and as the days get shorter and the nights colder, there will soon be fresh leaves with which to make more, but not before the trees put on their show of autumn colours.
One of the best places to enjoy this spectacle is in the Tummel Valley in Perthshire where, in the 18th and 19th Centuries the “Planting Dukes of Atholl” covered their estate in 27 million trees.
They are still planting trees at Blair Atholl today, helping soak up carbon and improve the environment, but its the mature trees, planted during that golden era of estate-making, that are drawing visitors these days.
Here you can find some of the tallest trees in the country and best place to see them is in Diana’s Grove, a twoacre space close to the castle where Giant sequoias, Grand firs and Japanese larches stretch upwards to seemingly impossible heights.
Blair Atholl is participating in the Scottish Tree Festival and from now until December 1 visitors to dozens of gardens and estates will be able to take part in walks, talks and workshops on everything to do with trees.
At Armadale Castle on Skye, at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh and Castle Kennedy near Stranraer, rangers will take visitors on tours through spectacular woodlands. At The Plant Market in Dunfermline and Munro’s Nurseries at North Kessock there will be advice on fruit trees and trees for small gardens, while at Abbotsford in the Borders, visitors will be invited to take a walk in Walter’s Wood and see the trees that
were planted by Sir Walter Scott himself.
From shimmering light installations and children’s stories at Glamis Castle to woodcarving workshops at the Japanese Garden at Cowden and willow wand carving at Cambo, events will highlight the beauty and usefulness of wood.
I’d recommend adding a tree to even the tiniest garden. Acers are invaluable if you don’t have much space, but dwarf fruit trees, slender-stemmed birches and rowans and the lovely weeping pear tree, Pyrus salicifolia ‘pendula’ are all elegant trees that take up very little room.
A couple of years ago I planted a winter-flowering cherry tree and it brightens up the garden when there is little else in flower and I’ve got half a dozen young oaks, grown from acorns, to find places for.
These will take years to reach maturity, but I’ll have the pleasure of watching them grow and, like the Dukes of Atholl, I’ll be leaving a legacy for future generations to enjoy.