Planting the Car Park...
Sarah Millard is Supervisor of Estate Volunteers for the Westonbirt Project. She leads a group of volunteers who carry out a variety of practical tasks, including tree planting.
The planting season is upon us and it is time to give the new car park its instant impact makeover as after months of preparation the new trees are finally being planted!
Differing from the Arboretum’s usual planting of two year old trees that have been propagated here on site by Penny, these trees have been purchased from Barcham, a tree specialist nursery. The trees are around 10 years old and we have over 130 to plant, so requiring a considerable amount of digging!
Just some of the trees we are planting!
We have quite a variety of trees to plant too, including Quercus robur, the magnificent English oak, to eventually mature to create a tall canopy. Platanus x hispanica (London plane) is being planted, which is believed to be tolerant of urban pollution suitable for our new car park. Colour in all seasons has also been important in the design of the car park. We are planting Acer platanoides ‘Princeton Gold’ for its golden yellow spring foliage. Betula utilis (Birch) is being planted for its bark colours which are shown off to full advantage in winter and Liquidambar styraciflua, also known as sweetgum, is a fine tree for autumn colour as it burns with crimson and gold.
Despite the recent bad weather and some very stubborn Cotswold stone we hope to have the majority of car park planting finished by Christmas. The holes dug are around a meter in diameter to ensure the roots have some soft soil to settle down into. The trees are then protected with a tall metal cage that is held by two wooden stakes. This ensures there is plenty of space for the tree to move and grow, but giving maximum protection from wildlife such as deer that would rub their antlers over the trees to mark their territory.
After being strapped in and tucked up in a good layer of mulch we hope that the new trees will grow and thrive to be another addition to Westonbirt’s fantastic landscape.
