Science & Opinion

On the edge of the beautiful Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Castlewellan Ireland, lies one of most remarkable tree collections, not only in Ireland but in the whole of Europe. Just a few miles from the Irish Sea, sheltered Arboretum by the mountains and surrounding woodland, Castlewellan Arboretum and Annesley Garden contain a truly extraordinary number of trees of great A great tree collection rarity, beauty and size.

If gardeners and tree lovers have heard in need of restoration of Castlewellan, it is generally through the golden cypress that bears its name. Most Mark Johnston are completely unaware of its arboricultural and horticultural importance. However, until quite recently that was not the case. In Edward Hyam’s authoritative book Irish Gardens, published in 1967, he describes the Castlewellan Arboretum and Annesley Garden as the best garden in the north of Ireland. But in Shirley Lanigan’s 2011 book The 100 Best Gardens in Ireland, Castlewellan is not even mentioned. What has happened? Has this world-famous arboretum now disappeared? Certainly not – but its steady deterioration over the past 10 years seriously threatens the future of this internationally important tree collection which is now in danger of being forgotten.

While the arboretum is undoubtedly under threat, there remains a truly remarkable tree collection. Owen Johnson’s Champion Trees of Britain and Ireland, published in 2011, lists 20 of the great tree collections of Britain and Ireland that are outstanding for their number of champion trees. There are three Irish gardens on that list. First, the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin, Dublin, with 89 champions. Joint second with 40 champions are Mount Usher and Castlewellan. Mount Usher is one of the most visited gardens in Ireland and world- famous for its tree collection. The fact that Castlewellan actually has the same number of champion trees really says it all.

The number of extraordinary individual trees is too many to mention here. However, there are notable specimens of Podocarpus, Juniperus, Torreya, Eucryphia, Picea, Cupressus, Drimys, Nothofagus, Abies and many other genera.

Reversing the decline of Castlewellan Arboretum is not just about restoring a wonderful landscape. As global warming starts to change our treescapes, it could have a vital scientific role. There are a few arboreta like Castlewellan that can tell us so much about how a huge variety of rare and tender trees can adapt to climate change. These special tree collections can also provide important propagation material and be the source of new and Giant sequoia at Castlewellan planted in 1856 and photographed in 1900. useful cultivars.

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Castlewellan also had the services of a glasshouses. People also comment curator but this ended when the individual on jungle of weeds in the borders and returned to private landscape practice in shrubberies of the once immaculate formal England. garden. But the most urgent priority is the tree collection across the whole of Castlewellan Forest Park’s latest attraction, the arboretum, much of which is located the Peace Maze, was established from outside the Walled Garden. Many of the 2000/01 and has been recognised as the newer plantings are now in danger of world’s largest permanent hedge maze. disappearing completely under a mountain It is located several hundred metres from of woody weeds. However, to appreciate the entrance to the Annesley Garden and this, you would have to know that there are does receive regular maintenance. The actually rare young trees hidden among Peace Maze was created to celebrate the this jungle. Sadly, the lack of maintenance signing of the Good Friday Agreement and threat to many of the trees are and the costs were met largely by the EU’s probably only obvious to the trained Special Support Programme for Peace arboricultural eye. and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Efforts to reverse the decline In the height of summer Castlewellan’s Eucryphia avenue is The years of decline breathtaking. Arboretum Regeneration Castlewellan Sadly, the decline of Castlewellan (ARC) is a group of local people who have Arboretum began with the retirement taken it upon themselves to highlight the A wonderful botanical legacy of Sam Harrison in 2000. He was not sad state of Castlewellan Arboretum and replaced and the number of gardeners to do something practical to help reverse Castlewellan Arboretum has a long was steadily reduced. Just like many the decline. ARC was formed over three history. The Annesley family lived on the government agencies in Northern Ireland, years ago and was first to highlight this site from 1740 and from the earliest days the Forest Service has come under severe issue. Aislinn O’Reilly, the Chairperson for they developed the landscape. During financial pressure and Castlewellan ARC, recalls that ‘When I was a child, my the 19th century, Hugh Annesley, the Arboretum is a major casualty of that. family used to spend many hours walking Fifth Earl, went to considerable lengths For Sam, who still lives nearby, it is now a and playing in the Walled Garden. In those to acquire new beautiful and rare plants. painful experience to visit the arboretum days the gardens were perfect but now it’s He commissioned Veitch and other that he once managed with such care and just so sad to see the neglect.’ famous nurseries to mount expeditions affection. to collect these plants, which included With the support of the Forest Service and many conifers and evergreens from the The dilapidated state of Castlewellan under the direction of Sam Harrison, ARC southern hemisphere. Fortunately, the Arboretum is reflected in the very small has organised regular working parties of climatic conditions at Castlewellan were numbers of people who actually visit the volunteers to undertake basic maintenance ideal for these tender introductions. The place. This is in stark contrast to the many with handtools. Over recent years this has close proximity of the Irish Sea, the mild thousands who visit the Forest Park itself. amounted to literally hundreds of volunteer influence of the Gulf Stream and the For those occasional visitors, the most hours spent trying to stem the decline. well-sheltered aspect from surrounding obvious signs of decline are the derelict But ultimately, ARC knows its efforts mountains and woodlands enabled a remarkable range of plants to survive and flourish.

The Annesley Estate was purchased by the Department of Agriculture (NI) in 1967 and its management was vested in the Forest Service. The whole area was then designated as Castlewellan Forest Park. In the 1970s–90s, the arboretum expanded steadily from its main focus on the Walled Garden (The Annesley Garden) to cover nearly 40 hectares. The most important features that were added or expanded include the Spring Garden, Rhododendron Wood, Autumn Wood and the Cypress Pond area, which includes the Chamaecyparis collection.

Much of that new planting was instigated by Sam Harrison, former Arboreta Forester for Castlewellan and other Forest Service properties. Sam retired in 2000 after nearly 30 years’ service. With his small team of gardeners, he left a tremendous legacy of hundreds more rare and unusual trees and shrubs. For a few years in the early 2000s, The derelict glasshouses are an obvious sign of the decline.

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incomplete and is no longer reliable. The new survey must be comprehensive: it must identify what remains of this remarkable collection, record this on a computerised database with GPS coordinates, and establish what tree work needs to be undertaken according to some clear priorities. Only then can any meaningful management plan be developed.

Those of us who are determined to see the restoration of Castlewellan Arboretum can envisage a future when visitors will flock there from across Ireland and Britain and from overseas. In the summer it would form the centrepiece of a hugely popular ARC members and supporters on a trip to Kilmacurragh Arboretum, County Wicklow, in May 2012. garden tour of County Down, in much the same way as the gardens in County Wicklow, near Dublin, do now. Once again, are nowhere near enough. To restore Before any major restoration work begins, Castlewellan would take its place as one of this once-great arboretum will require a some important research must be the great gardens in Ireland. substantial amount of funding and full-time undertaken. We urgently need to know expertise. what trees and shrubs are still there and Dr Mark Johnston is Research Fellow have survived the years of neglect. A for Arboriculture and Urban Forestry Since ARC initially raised the plight of survey conducted over 10 years ago was at Myerscough College Castlewellan Arboretum, others have got involved. Some of these efforts have been well-intentioned but some have also been unhelpful. Their focus has often been on the glasshouses, buildings and formal horticultural elements, while the desperate condition of much of the unique tree collection has hardly been mentioned. Also, criticising the Forest Service does not help to resolve this. In January 2012, the plight of Castlewellan Arboretum was debated in the Northern Ireland Assembly – a major step forward in raising its profile. A call to undertake the restoration of the arboretum was given all-party support and endorsed at ministerial level. Now everyone needs to work together and support the Forest Service in its efforts to find a long-term solution.

Sam Harrison, the former Arboreta Forester, with a rare young oak planted before his retirement. Castlewellan’s California nutmeg, Torreya californica, is a remarkable champion tree.

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