It's the perfect retreat
Sheffield-born John, whose passion for gardening started at his family home at the tender age of just three-years-old, and who holds a degree in Botany and a Doctorate in African Forrest Ecology from Oxford University, is quick to come up with a useful analogy: “Just like a fine bottle of wine, the trees simply get better as they mature with age!” he states.The arboretum site was formerly parkland around Castle Howard, with parts later used for agriculture.
“Seed or young plants have come especially from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, but we receive plants from many other arboreta in the United Kingdom too. This high proportion of wild-source material, with its genetic diversity and importance for conservation, makes the Yorkshire Arboretum a significant location, and it’s regarded by Defra as a back-up collection for Kew.”
The public was first admitted for a few open days in 1999, but increasingly thereafter. This eventually necessitated the building of the John Simmons Visitor Centre – named after an Honorary Curator of the Trust and officially opened in 2007 by the Earl of Selborne, Chairman of the Trustees at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
John comments: “Our trees are threatened by an unprecedented array of pests and pathogens. Protecting our trees has never been more important – everyone is a stakeholder in tree health, from private householders with a back garden tree to the Highways Agency and councils. All need to know how to maintain healthy trees or identify and manage those affected by pests and disease.
“Our trees also tell another story – of the endeavours made by collectors to bring the seed back from the wild. We’re fortunate to have specimens grown from material attributable to almost every notable plant collector active in the past 160 years. We’ve got rhododendrons derived from seed collected in 1849, while other plantings include specimens from many recent expeditions from Kew and other botanic gardens.
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