This Beech tree at Woodovis had to be felled in the spring of 2012 as it was deemed unsafe, such a shame as it was over 200 years old. This photograph was taken 18 months earler when there were some specactular hoar frosts. When we had a Fete for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at Woodovis Caravan Park June 4th 2012, I displayed a section of this tree in a local history exhibition. I put 25 local and historical dates to match the annular rings.
We miss the trees that have had to be taken away as they were part of the landscape
Dorothy and Meg at the woods nearby in the Tamar Valley
Meg was not interested in water to begin with but now is a different story
Ivy can be very attractive at any time of the year.
After a lifetime of looking after other peoples's gardens we wanted to retire to Devon. We bought our Duke of Bedford cottage in 2001, it had been let for some years, and become very neglected. It is one of four Duke of Bedford Cottages that were built in 1855 for woodmen. The garden had not been looked after for many years, and so provided the biggest challenge. It is on a slope away from the cottage and had been used as dumping ground over the years, old machinery including a car, and motorbikes were partialy buried with domestic refuse, all covered with brambles, nettles and other weeds. It seemed an impossible task at first. We were unprepared for the emergence of a large outcrop of rock, which has become the dominant feature of the garden. Four years after re-creating the garden we were honoured to be chosen to be included in Westcountry Television Garden of the Year in the 2005 programme series.