Click here to Arduaine Garden is closed until further notice, to allow staff to carry out essential forestry work necessary for safe access to the public.
Work has been going on for the past 5 years to remove Larch trees from our windbreak to comply with a Statutory Plant Health Notice which was issued because of the presence of Phytophthora ramorum. This is a fungal like organism which causes dieback and death in a wide range of trees and shrubs, but particularly affects Larch, which made up 90% of our windbreak. Work to remove this Larch is almost complete.
The remaining 10% of trees which were planted at the same time as the Larch have now become vulnerable to wind damage because the protection, they once had from other trees has now gone, and the soils here are thin. It has become difficult to predict when these trees will fall, and some have blown down in moderate winds with no warning. We have lost many trees due to the recent storms too, which will take months to clear. Until the remaining vulnerable trees have been removed or reduced, and the fallen trees have been cleared, it will not be safe for visitors to access the Garden.
Work to remove the vulnerable trees will be carried out in the same careful manner that we have employed in the removal of the Larch trees. We will remove or reduce trees by climbing them to carefully lower cut sections using rigging techniques to minimise damage to our nationally important collection of Rhododendron’s. This work is done by trained NTS staff and skilled contractors who have worked with us over the last 5 years.
The work to reopen the garden will be carried out in two stages.
The first stage of this work will enable the lower part of the garden to reopen to the public. We anticipate that this could take months and the lower garden may not open again until the end of summer.
The second stage which will allow the rest of the garden to be opened will not be completed until 2023.
Gregor Anderson
27/02/2022
.
Work has been going on for the past 5 years to remove Larch trees from our windbreak to comply with a Statutory Plant Health Notice which was issued because of the presence of Phytophthora ramorum. This is a fungal like organism which causes dieback and death in a wide range of trees and shrubs, but particularly affects Larch, which made up 90% of our windbreak. Work to remove this Larch is almost complete.
The remaining 10% of trees which were planted at the same time as the Larch have now become vulnerable to wind damage because the protection, they once had from other trees has now gone, and the soils here are thin. It has become difficult to predict when these trees will fall, and some have blown down in moderate winds with no warning. We have lost many trees due to the recent storms too, which will take months to clear. Until the remaining vulnerable trees have been removed or reduced, and the fallen trees have been cleared, it will not be safe for visitors to access the Garden.
Work to remove the vulnerable trees will be carried out in the same careful manner that we have employed in the removal of the Larch trees. We will remove or reduce trees by climbing them to carefully lower cut sections using rigging techniques to minimise damage to our nationally important collection of Rhododendron’s. This work is done by trained NTS staff and skilled contractors who have worked with us over the last 5 years.
The work to reopen the garden will be carried out in two stages.
The first stage of this work will enable the lower part of the garden to reopen to the public. We anticipate that this could take months and the lower garden may not open again until the end of summer.
The second stage which will allow the rest of the garden to be opened will not be completed until 2023.
Gregor Anderson
27/02/2022
.
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