The secret life of trees at Brodie

Brodie’s Tree Festival Day is part of the inaugural Scottish Tree Festival, which is taking place throughout October and November 2018. The amazingly diverse world of trees is about to be celebrated for the first time and we’ll be offering a wide range of activities, walks and talks. Brodie Castle is one of the Trust’s 38 great gardens and designed landscapes.

Head Gardener Ed Walling has been working with his team and other colleagues at Brodie Castle and the new Playful Garden to create a fascinating day of tree-focused activity for all age ranges. Ed says: ‘Brodie Estate has a wealth of wonderful trees, saplings, bushes and shrubs. These can be found across the 70 hectares of beautiful woodland where visitors can walk and explore. Trees are vital to the future of our planet and we want to celebrate their importance during the national Tree Festival.’

We’ll also share some of our horticultural expertise at this event. Included in the fun-filled day is a presentation by Kevin Frediani, tree expert and the Trust’s Operations Manager from award-winning Inverewe. He’ll look into the secret life of trees and investigate their body language to explain how trees grow and regenerate, why trees stand up against the wind, how they get so tall, and why they grow into such diverse shapes. All will be revealed during Kevin’s talk!

Throughout the day there’ll be guided tours of the shrubbery and woodland, tree planting, green wood carving, tree service demonstrations by tree surgeons, seed collecting, paper pot making and planting, bird feeder making, tree bark rubbing and leaf printing. And there’ll be face painting too – something for everyone!

Ed adds: ‘Here at the Trust we work to ensure that our heritage and landscape is valued by everyone. The Tree Festival Day on 13 October is a wonderful opportunity to do just that – we can’t wait to showcase this very special place at Brodie Castle and teach visitors of all ages how to understand and protect it for future generations.’