National Trust gardeners at Colby Woodland Garden were delighted to be told recently that one of their long cherished trees is the tallest of its kind in Great Britain or Ireland.
A recent survey by Dr. Owen Johnson, of the Tree Register, identified the Japanese Red Cedar (Cryptomeria Japonica) as a 'Champion Tree'. At 39 metres (128 ft), the tree beats all its rivals by a comfortable margin.
The Tree Register of the British Isles is a charitable foundation which exists to identify and record notable and ancient trees in Britain and Ireland. Also identified at the same time was another 'Champion Tree'. The False Cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Triomf van Boskoop), standing at 31 metres (101 ft), is also the tallest of its kind registered.
The garden, which is open to the public, sits in a lovely sheltered valley near Amroth and the gardeners there put down their unique trees to good soil, a fine sheltered site and the 'gentle maritime climate of Pembrokeshire'.
Head gardener Steve Whitehead said: "We knew we had some really special trees here, but it's a nice surprise to know that some of them are record- breakers!"