Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Arborarium Extraordinaire!

An early morning ramble down Southside Road, Inverness, set me to contemplate the early history of this leafy lane. At first I was struck by the beautiful heritage stone homes, from cozy cottages to grand mansions, mostly set behind bulky stone walls. Then I began to notice the exotic gardens and an incredibly diverse collection of trees and shrubs from around the world. 


Western Yew?

How could it be, I wondered, that in one tiny corner of this historic town, so many plants “from away” were thriving here in the northern reaches of Scotland. Towering over one  particular front garden was a massive Douglas Fir, as big as the monster that sits at the top of our driveway on Vancouver Island. Just below it, a Canadian Red Cedar and a Broad Leaf Maple. This signature ‘Canadian Corner’ had obviously been planted by someone celebrating another time and place. A little further on, at the intersection of Southside Road and Old Edinburgh Road, I found a thriving Eucalyptus, emblematic of my other motherland. Many of the exotic trees I spotted were beyond my limited knowledge, but obviously imported from far away.


Douglas Fir

When I asked John Ridgway about my discovery later in the day, he explained that this part of town had originally housed wealthy tea plantation owners who had obviously returned home with seeds and seedlings in memory of their oversees adventures. (My discoveries would suggest that there were maybe a couple of fur traders and perhaps a couple of ex convicts living among the tea planters!)


Eucalyptus 

My entrepreneurial spirit led me to contemplate an interesting hobby-job. How fascinating it would be, with an arborist’s assistance, to estimate the age of a sampling of the more exotic Southside Road trees and shrubs, then research the titles of the related homes to determine who the likely planters were. One could then develop a walking tour of this beautiful neighbourhood, merging its history and biology. Hmmm... Maybe I should initiate a franchise of the concept, with the proceeds funding our next visit to Scotland!


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