As Benmore Botanic Garden undertakes critical work to help safeguard its historic Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) Avenue, we are taking a moment to reflect on what has been achieved so far, and the support that has made this possible.
Described as one of the finest entrances to a botanical garden anywhere in the world, the magnificent Redwood Avenue at Benmore Botanic Garden, on Scotland’s west coast, is in desperate need of innovative actions or risks being lost to the nation through climate change and disease.
Planted in 1863 by the wealthy American James Piers Patrick, it lined the original driveway to Benmore House. These trees (Sequioadendron giganteum), native to California, were among the earliest to reach British shores when the species had only just been introduced to the outside world, making Benmore’s redwoods some of Europe’s oldest and tallest, reaching up more than 50m high.
However, due to a combination of soil compaction and increased rainfall in recent years, trees are showing signs that they are merely existing rather than growing. Benmore’s Curator Peter Baxter observed, ‘Their crowns are thinning and many lower branches are completely defoliated’. The situation is expected to worsen, with models from the UK Met Office anticipating increased rainfall and more intense storms in the region in future years, so work has begun to urgently address these issues.
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, as well as grants from The Younger (Benmore) Trust, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority, the Brown Forbes Memorial Fund, and Scotland-based branches of Soroptimists International, we have been able to thoroughly assess the existing damage and are now progressing through a crucial multi-year geo-injection and air-lancing project to benefit the long-term health of the Avenue.
Since February 2021, the team has achieved an impressive 7,250 square metres of geo-injection, to decompact soil, improve drainage and stimulate root growth, and have undertaken a programme of air-lancing, mulching and organic bio-stimulation to encourage the nutrient uptake of the trees.
We now look forward to continuing this work and progressing to the next phase of the project which will include the construction of a new central drainage raft. This raft, which will run along the entire grassed length of the Avenue, will allow visitors to safely admire Benmore’s stunning Redwoods from centre of the Avenue without risking further compaction to the soil.
Every donation we receive is greatly appreciated and a gift of any size will support this vital remedial work. Please consider giving a donation to safeguard Benmore’s iconic Sequoia Avenue for generations to come.
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