The Wellhead chestnuts

The Wellhead Gardens have several tree-lined avenues that are an attraction for visitors and this one to the north east and leading to West Street, is lined with horse chestnut trees that bloom with a mass of red candles during May.

The tree is a hybrid between our own native horse chestnut and the American red buckeye and is widely planted throughout Britain as an ornamental species and reaches a height in excess of 60 feet and is a favourite for planting in public gardens and alongside roads.

The trees were planted when the gardens were established in 1956 and by 2013 they were in need of attention because several had become a safety hazard with large splits developing in overhanging boughs that were in danger of falling. Tree surgeons arrived in June that year to carry out an extensive programme of cutting back and in one case a large branch was completely removed.

TRIMMING THE CHESTNUTS
Photographs courtesy Geoff Bell

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WRITTEN JUNE 2013