The second part of the group day trip, after our visit to Fredville Park, was to Goodestone Park, not very far away.
Paul, head gardener, who took us around the gardens, was very keen to point out that the gardens were managed in a very environmentally friendly way…no chemical herbicide; allowing areas to naturally regenerate and repopulate; lawns would not be manicured to a monocultural sward as clover and other wild flowers appeared.
Whilst happy to admire the parkland, the parterre and the elegant Queen Anne frontice to the main estate manor, we were naturally interested in the trees in the park.
Paul commented on the 200-year-old Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) as we rapidly moved on to admire some splendid veteran sweet chestnut trees (Castanea sativa) including a picturesque stag-horned example as well as a “mother tree” whose lowest-hanging branch had layered to allow a clone “daughter” to grow beside her.
In the walled garden Paul pointed out a Magnolia grandiflora “Goliath” – a champion tree.
Further into the woodlands we stopped to appreciate some excellent Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida), a wedding cake tree (Cornus controversa) which needed attention as some growth higher up was reverting to green.
Lastly, we made a special small detour to visit a very splendid Southern beech (Nothofagus fusca), another champion tree.
There was lots to enjoy and we were very lucky and grateful that Paul gave us nearly 2 hours of his time.