There has been some instant gardening on a grand scale in the Falmouth area this April.
Two enormous Canary Date Palms, Phoenix Canariensis, were occupying an over dominant position in front of the home of Ray and Jane Stedman, having grown to nearly 20 feet high in their 26 year life.
Having bought the house in 2005 they realised that, handsome specimens as they were, the palms had to be moved for the sake of the house's structure and the overall garden design.
Happily a new home was found for them just five miles away at the famous sub-tropical valley garden of Trebah on the Helford River, but it was no small task to get them there. Under the watchful eye of Ray and Jane, and under the direction of Trebah's Head Gardener Darren Dickey, John Tremaine skilfully deployed his JCB and dug out the root balls with impressive precision and no damage to the rest of the garden.
Meanwhile Darren's garden team were excavating 5 ft deep holes on a side of the valley to receive them, and there they now are with their roots well watered and top fronds trimmed back to improve their chance of survival, which is by no means assured.
Trebah's manager Nigel Burnett said: "They look marvellous even now in their pruned state, so they will have great visual impact when their leaves re-grow. The fine specimens are a welcome addition to the garden, which already boasts a distinguished collection of palm trees and tree ferns'.
Trebah is immensely grateful to the Stedmans who generously donated the palms to the garden, and also to Jonathan Saunders of Caroe & Partners (the Wells architects of the new Trebah reception building), Hodgsons Chartered Accountants and Barclays Bank who contributed to the not inconsiderable costs incurred."
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