Every year we look forward to a stunning display of Tulips in the Main gardens usually in May. However this year with the particularly mild winter we have had they have decided to put on there show early, almost 6 weeks early! The Pool Garden is looking colourful now as I write this on April 1st. How will this this effect the rest of the season we can but wait and see.

The next part of the clearing process involved the removal of carpets of ivy from
the ground and also any growing up the trees. We felt a surge of guilt as we knew
full well what an important ecosystem Ivy is, during the Winter it protects the soil
from frost and snow cover, giving foraging birds the chance to keep feeding. It
also provides a home for small animals and insects. The Spring ripening berries are
high in fat, though are poisonous in large amounts. The flowers in the Autumn are
an important source of pollen and nectar for insects, moths and butterflies. It also
provides shelter for birds to build their nests, and for bats to roost in during the day.
There is however some Ivy on the side of the house and also on an outbuilding,
which we have made a pact to leave. Bracken was then pulled and brambles
stripped out. It was at this point that the area was barren, we saw few birds and
only ground loving insects, there was no shelter or food sources.

The next part of the development of the garden was the creation of the plant beds.
The sandstone found around Abbeywood was used as the borders, there was no
point buying anything in when we had this natural resource lying all around us.
We had also seen, that once aged, it would soften with a covering of mosses and
lichens. I then started to plant these beds up, not always with proper preparation!
I wanted to use interesting trees and shrubs, with some conifers for all year colour.
I then started filling in with perennials and bulbs. I particularly like Spring so put in
lots of plants that would be flowering then.

Slowly as the garden started to evolve we noticed the number of insects and birds
visiting the garden increasing. In the past couple of years, which is a decade since
we started the garden we have had some really exciting visitors, some whom have
made their home here, others who have only passed by. Toads and frogs seem
to really like rooting round in the leaves and edging stones. We frequently find
hedgehog poo, but never see the culprit! During 2011 we also had Common lizards,
who were very photo obliging. Baby grass snakes have also been in the garden.
Butterflies, moths and dragonflies all come in to feed on the flowers. Another first in
2011 was Bullfinches taking the seed of the Geranium phaeums, one of my favourite birds that I hadn’t seen for years. This in some ways makes us feel our decision to commence the work in the woodland and transform it into a woodland garden in cheshire was right, and who knows what wildlife may visit in years to come.

David Rowlinson 22/12/2011

Sequoia sempervirens

Common Names:

Coastal Redwood, California Redwood

Coastal Redwoods once used to be found across the Northern Hemisphere but now
they only exist along a narrow 500 mile strip along the coast of northern California
and southern Oregon.

In 2006, a Coastal Redwood measuring 115m (379ft) was discovered in Redwood
National Park in California. Known as Hyperion, this is officially the world’s tallest
living thing. The Coast Redwood was first introduced to Britain in 1843. Here, it
grows best in the wetter southwest of the country where it has been known to grow
to 40m (130ft) in height but more often is less than 30m (100ft).

Coast redwoods have a conical crown, with horizontal to slightly drooping branches.
The bark is very thick, up to 30 cm (12 in), and quite soft, fibrous with a bright red-
brown when freshly exposed, weathering darker. Like the Giant Redwood, Coastal
Redwoods have thick fibrous bark containing tannin that help protect in particular
the older, larger specimens from forest fires. The root system is composed of
shallow, wide-spreading lateral roots.

Coastal Redwood forests have an abundant undergrowth, amongst which there are
a lot of ferns. Coastal Redwoods can also be a complex ecosystem in themselves,
supporting a wide variety of life.

The Coastal Redwoods that have been planted in sheltered areas at Abbeywood
have fared better than those planted in more exposed areas. However with the
planting of the woodland glades, this should provide more protection for the Main
Arboretum where one Sequoia in particular has suffered from wind scorch over the
last few harsh winters.

I was fortunate enough to visit Muir Woods near San Francisco a Coastal Redwood
Forest containing almost 300 acres of mature redwoods. Unfortunately I only had a
short amount of time to spend here, as I had only allocated 1 day to spend in the
area, but I was able to have a good look around this beautiful forest.

Before the logging industry came to California there was an estimated two million
acres of redwood forest.

By the early 20th century, most of these forests had been cut down. Just north of
the San Francisco Bay, one valley named Redwood Canyon remained uncut, mainly
due to its relative inaccessibility.

This was noticed by U.S. Congressman William Kent. He and his wife, Elizabeth
Thacher Kent, purchased 611 acres (247 ha) of land from the Tamalpais Land and
Water Company for $45,000 with the goal of protecting the redwoods and the
mountain above them.

In 1907, a water company in nearby Sausalito planned to dam Redwood Creek,
thereby flooding the valley. When Kent objected to the plan, the water company
took him to court to attempt to force the project to move ahead. Kent sidestepped
the water company’s plot by donating 295 acres (119 ha) of the redwood forest to
the federal government, thus bypassing the local courts.

On January 9th 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation establishing
the Muir Woods National Monument, It was named after the conservationist John
Muir.

If it had not been for the efforts of the Kent’s, I would never have seen this
wonderful sight. It is the great beauty of these remaining redwood forests that
helped to inspire me to start collecting them.

The current cultivars of Sequoia sempervirens at Abbeywood are:

Adpressa
Filile
Kelly’s Prostrate
Kenwood
Mt Loma Prieta Spike
Simpson’s Silver

As with my collection of Sequoiadendrons, it is my intention to plant more cultivars
of Sequoia sempervirens at Abbeywood Gardens Cheshire.

See more at wikipedia