Storm damage to Arduaine Garden

Work has been going on at Arduaine Garden for the past five years, to remove larch trees from our windbreak to comply with a Statutory Plant Health Notice that was issued because of the presence of Phytophthora ramorum. This is a fungal-like organism which causes dieback and death in a wide range of trees and shrubs, but particularly affects larch, which made up 90% of our windbreak. Work to remove this larch is almost complete.

The remaining 10% of trees that were planted at the same time as the larch have now become vulnerable to wind damage because the protection they once had from other trees has now gone, and the soils here are thin. It has become difficult to predict when these trees will fall, and some have blown down in moderate winds with no warning. We have also lost many trees due to the recent storms, which will take months to clear. Until the remaining vulnerable trees were removed or reduced, and the fallen trees were cleared, it was not safe for visitors to access the garden.

Work to remove the vulnerable trees was carried out in the same careful manner that we have employed in the removal of the larch trees. We remove or reduce trees by climbing them and carefully lowering cut sections using rigging techniques, in order to minimise damage to our nationally important collection of rhododendrons. This work is done by trained National Trust for Scotland staff and skilled contractors who have worked with us over the last five years.

The work to reopen the garden was carried out in two stages.

• The first stage of this work enabled the lower part of the garden to reopen to the public. This took a number of months and the lower garden did not open again until the end of summer.

• The second stage, which allowed the rest of the garden to be opened, was completed in 2023.