Just got back from the members day at Benmore. Peter Baxter gave us an update on the garden including the storm in January The garden lost several specimen trees including a huge Silver Fir which had been planted in 1888. On the way down - it took a large Sitka Spruce with it - also a very old tree. When they measured the Spruce on the ground it came out at 198 feet. They reckon that this must have been the largest in the UK. We had a tour round and saw huge trunks lying in the forested areas. Although it was sad to see these giants on the forest floor, very little damage was done to the Rhododendron underplanting. Some of these huge tree trunks will have to be left in situ as it is impossible to get machinery in to remove them without damaging the surrounding plantings.What was also noticeable was that more trees were shattered up their trunks than were uprooted. Anyway, the good news was that it has opened up more areas for planting and the garden will open on 1 March with full access.
The weather was miserable all the way from Ayr and crossing on the ferry. Of course, it decided to clear up when we went in for lunch and a talk on a RBGE expedition to Nepal.
As the weather had turned Spring like we decided to come back the long way via Glasgow and detoured onto the single track road named locally as Hell's Glen - vastly improved since I first drove along it about 47 years ago. I had hoped to see a Golden Eagle from here but the road does not allow the driver to look any where but straight ahead.
Last Sunday we went to Dawyck which also lost some trees but the damage there was not nearly as bad. A nice spread of Snowdrops was all along the burn.
