Welcome to National Tree Week.
The Bannockburn House Trust Garden Blog
– by Margaret Pollock
Trees are special.
They store carbon, replenish oxygen and conserve our soil; they give us food and shade, building materials for our homes and irreplaceable habitats for innumerable species and without trees our water supply would dwindle.
Yet, in many societies, we tend to see them as an obstruction to a development or something to be cut down and sold.
Life without trees would be difficult and very dull so why not celebrate their presence, their generosity and their beauty.
During National Tree Week we want to show you some of the amazing, ancient, huge and downright gorgeous trees growing in the grounds of Bannockburn House.
Reveal number one features ‘The Five Sisters’ – our five stunningly beautiful ‘Giant Redwood’ trees or ‘Sequoia giganteum’.
You will see these awe-inspiring, evergreen trees near the ancient Gate Pillars as you approach the House.
The giant Redwood was introduced into Scotland in 1853 after Patrick Matthew’s son, John, sent seeds home to grow in their nursery in Perth. The resulting young trees were highly fashionable and quickly spread across the parklands and estates of Scotland where many still can be seen today. As they grow taller their lower branches to drop off as this helps them to withstand high winds so you will find that many Giant Redwood trees over 100 years old have no branches on their lower trunk. This accentuates their height and makes them all the more impressive. Our trees may have been planted in the 1880’s when many changes were introduced to the House and gardens, so they could be 150 years old but in Redwood terms that means they are just ‘toddlers’.
Sequoia trees thrive in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California growing to be among the tallest and oldest trees on the planet with some of them living for more than 3,000 years. Despite being one of the most fire resistant species on the earth, their resilience to insect damage, disease and fire has decreased dramatically in the last ten years and their native habitat is at increasing risk from drought and forest fires. The Giant Redwood is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN* with fewer than 80,000 remaining in its native California. Sequoias grow in a temperate climate and enjoy a lot of rain so our Scottish climate is ideal for them to flourish. The Scottish Redwood Trust has been researching suitable geographical areas to grow these trees and sustain an external gene pool to ensure the continuity of the species. We are working with them to plant a grove of these stunning trees on our land.
In 1860 a young Bannockburn laddie called John McLaren began his working life as an apprentice gardener at Bannockburn House. John enjoyed this work so much that he decided to train as a professional gardener at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh where he would meet his future wife. They emigrated to the USA where John became famous as the gardener who created the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. He planted over two million trees in his lifetime and we believe that his favourite tree was the Giant Redwood.
Did he send over seeds or saplings that were planted to create our ‘Five Sisters’?
We don’t know the origin of our trees yet but it is fitting that we have five of these amazing trees growing in the garden that formed the cradle of one of America’s great gardeners.
John’s words of advice to his son were :“ if you have nothing to do, go plant a tree and it will grow while you sleep.”
Here is a photo of 11 year old baby, ‘Wee Fergus’ who definitely grows while we sleep!
Keep your eyes open as you drive around and you may be surprised how many of these tall, elegant trees you can spot. The tallest Scottish tree is at Benmore in southwest Scotland, reaching 56.4 metres (185 ft) in 2014 at age 150 years. Contrast this with the tallest tree measured so far in the Redwood National Park. It is called ‘General Sherman’ and the most recent measurement showed it stood at 83 metres (275 ft). It is between 2,500 and 2,700 years old
Closer to home, if you visit Gargunnock House you will find that the approach drive is lined with several of these stately, mature trees, a quite beautiful sight and, of course, there are several Giant Redwood trees on the summit of Gillies Hill , Cambusbarronwhich were recently saved from felling by the community .
* IUCN – International Union for the Conservation of Nature
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