February 2010

As we leave February and head in to March the snow and heavy frost is still here, 10 weeks without change.Daytime temperatures are beginning to pick up with figures of 6/7 deg occurring but after dark we are back to anything down to minus 10 deg. It is getting a bit tedious but it will change...nothing surer than that.

But on a far more positive note we are delighted to announce that the Atholl Palace Hotel has been selected to become one of the main sites for the Iconic Project.The main sponsors of this unique venture are the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh,Forestry Commission,The International Conifer Conservation Programme and Perth and Kinross Coutryside Trust. Throughout the world conifers form key parts of important ecosystems and natural landscapes but it is a sad fact that out of c.650 conifer species worldwide almost half are faced with extinction. The Iconic project(Internationally threatened Conifers In our Care) aims to help save some of the world’s rarest and most remarkable trees by creating safe-havens for them among tree collections of Perthshire Big Tree Country. The Palace will,initially, be taking around 25 of these fabulous,young trees and they will be planted out around the grounds for all of us to enjoy. For those who know their trees(and for those like me who know fewer than they would like) the following species will be planted out in 2010.
Cephalotaxus harringtonii (Japanese plum yew)
Sequoia sempervirens (Coast redwood)
Prumnopitys andina (Chilean plum yew)
Abies cilicica (Cilician fir)
Abies nordmanniana (Nordmann fir)
Abies pinsapo (Spanish fir)
Picea omorika (Serbian spruce)
Picea orientalis (Oriental spruce)

All the trees will be protected from deer and rabbits and discreet signage will be placed to give you a little more information about the project.This is an exciting addition to the ongoing refurbishment of the Palace grounds and should offer a new dimension of interest to all our guests who enjoy strolling in our garden. Innes

Garden Gallery