Lost in the lovely trees

THE oldest tree in the world, apparently, is the bristle cone pine, pinus aristata. Specimens of this venerable plant are known in the white mountains of Colorado that are 5-6,000 years old.

That's astonishing. Think of it: a living thing that was already a couple of thousand years old when Stonehenge was being built.

The bristle cone pines at what could easily be dubbed the 'Kew Gardens of the North' - the Castle Howard arboretum - are not quite that old. In fact, they're mere babies: 25 at most, admits chief arborist Neil Batty.

Just to see them, however, is to be struck with awe. After all, these unimpressive-looking trees could live for another 6,000 years. What might the world be like then? We mere mortals can only imagine.

Their presence here at all is proof, if any were needed, that Neil and his team are building for the future. That's one of the things about planting an arboretum. Many species of tree grow slowly, taking years if not decades (or, in the case of the bristle cone pine, centuries) to mature. So the pioneers who design and plan arboreta rarely see them develop into maturity.

Neil has been at Castle Howard since 1982, just about all his working life. The arboretum, however, is still in its infancy.

It was the brainchild of George Howard and his friend James Russell. They decided to create one of the most comprehensive collections of trees and shrubs in Europe, collecting rare and endangered species from around the world before propagating them here in North Yorkshire.

Planting began in 1975 on 150 landscaped acres to the west of the great house itself, much of it ancient park land bordered by a stone wall. The arboretum - now run by an independent trust whose patron is the Prince of Wales - opened to the public in 1999 and today there are more than 7,500 species, anywhere between 20,000 and 30,000 trees altogether.

Part of the secret of the arboretum's success is its geography. It runs east to west along a gentle valley between sandy hills. The well-drained slopes contrast with the heavy, almost boggy valley floor - making for a range of soil types which, despite the comparatively cold northern climate, can support a huge range of different tree species.

Trees that can't be grown at Kew, despite its warmer climate, will often flourish here, Neil says.

Some of the rarer trees and shrubs were collected as seed by James Russell and John Simmons, then curator of Kew Gardens, on expeditions to China, Japan, Mexico, South America, the United States, Australia and the Himalayas.

Today at Castle Howard you will find evergreen oaks from the Himalayas; rare Chinese roses; a species of birch tree, betula austrosinensis, which sports beautiful catkins; weeping beech trees that trail long fronds in a lachrymose curtain to the ground; and a grove of beautiful Japanese elms, astonishingly shaped like graceful cocktail glasses.

They are, says Neil enthusiastically, sacred in their native Japan, the wood used to make sacred drums. The trees normally take 50 or 60 years to mature, and the specimens at Castle Howard are still young, with slender, graceful trunks. As they get older, those trunks will swell and thicken until they look more like baobabs.

There is even a species of deciduous conifer at Castle Howard, the Dawn Redwood, that sheds its leaves every winter and was thought to be extinct.

"It was only ever found as a fossil until 1941," Neil says. "It was thought to have been extinct for millions of years, until in 1941 a single plant was found in Hubei province, in central China."

Talk about Jurassic Park.

Scientifically, because of the rare and endangered species growing here, the arboretum is of huge importance.

"It is a genetic reservoir for the future," says Neil, "exactly like a zoo."

In other words, it is playing a vital role in helping to save endangered tree species from extinction. Among the trees flourishing here are rare eucalyptus trees, Mexican silver firs - and the Brecon whitebeam, of which only a few remain in the wild on the Brecon Beacons in South Wales.

For those who love trees, the arboretum is also a wonderful day out. Laid in a series of broad vistas and shaded walks, with lakes and ponds to adds diversity, the arboretum is a haven of peace and quiet.

At this time of year, it is particularly beautiful. The fruit trees - such as those in the stunning pear glade - are in glorious blossom, and the leaves on deciduous species are fresh and new.

There is also a wealth of wild flowers. "The arboretum is not just about trees," Neil says, looking along one of the many landscaped vistas to a lake in the distance. "There is a mass of wild flowers. Some of the meadows have not been cut for 150 years."

Scattered across some of the former parkland are remnants of the days when this was a deer park - mighty sweet chestnut trees, their trunks swollen and deformed from the bark being eaten away by deer when they were young. The trees were planted in 1788, Neil says - arborists know that from counting the rings on a tree that had to be felled.

There is much here to delight anyone with a passion for trees or the English landscape.

Among my favourite areas is the Rootery, a small glade near the lake where gnarled trunks and roots have been set out to form a small garden. At this time of year, the slopes leading down to the lake are carpeted in narcissus, and the Rootery itself is home to a range of wonderful ferns - including shuttlecock ferns, whose graceful fronds rise in elegant shuttlecock-shaped sprays from ancient bark and wood. A delight.

The Arboretum is open Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holidays until October 31. Opening hours: weekdays from 10am to 4pm; weekends and bank holidays 10am to 6pm. Admission: £3.75 adult, £2 children (five-16).

Updated: 10:41 Saturday, May 15, 2004