One tree at a time

When looking for the island propagator in the vast Abbey Garden, there is always one obvious place to start: the potting shed. Now home to Alison Clough who has been propagating on Tresco for a year and a half, it is filled with both the fruits and tools of her labour; from seeds and plants, to soil, compost and pots, it is every keen gardener's delight. 

In the wake of Storm Goretti, the last 6 months or so has been exceptionally busy for the whole garden and land management team. Hours and hours of painstaking work has been done on the drive clearing trunks and brunches and cutting and chipping large chunks of wood. However, lots more work has been going on behind the scenes too in Alison's shed.

Before Storm Goretti, Alison had already started sowing the seeds of some Pinus radiata - little did she know how important they would become! Since the storm, her to do list has lengthened and her tree production line has grown. But it's not only pine trees that will make up the shelterbelt of the future; on her 'to grow' list are Griselinia and Metrosideros excelsa - the former a coastal shrub and the latter a beautiful tree with red flowers originally from New Zealand.

Alison has been collecting cones and cuttings from trees all over the island to aid these future endeavours. One particularly special harvest was cones from the Monterey Cypress that fell in the storm and Alison sowed some of the seeds alongside Head Gardener of Cottage Gardens Peter: the next generation of Tresco Monterey Cypress trees are on the way!

Whilst these vast trees have humble beginnings in the potting shed, they then reside in the slightly grander glass houses and in true Blue Peter style, Alison has a few trees at each stage. In the hotter of the two houses, the tiny trees that she and Peter sowed are starting to burst through and it is incredible to imagine how big they will one day grow. They are coming along nicely with any water rations from throughout this dry summer going towards the cause. 

Once they've become more mature seedlings, the baby trees then move to the slightly cooler Peach House. Despite only being a couple of months along, the trees are growing strong, long roots and the future is looking bright.

Finally, in the most mature stage yet, Alison has some small trees in pots in her shade tunnel. The biggest ones Alison has grown so far, they reach to calf height and should be in the ground by Autumn 2027, all being well.

From there, the trees will be carefully maintained for several years and then eventually thinned by Jamie and Steve on the woodland team in order to select the best trees when they are much older. We will all be willing the trees along, hoping they grow to huge heights and protect our island for decades to come.

It is certainly quite the legacy for Alison to leave behind her.