DESCRIPTIONS OF THE TREES IN THE CLUCKER

Cedrus Deodara: This tree is a coniferous tree with long needles and a pale blue-green colour. Its branches are drooping, and its pine cones are rounded at the tip and reddish brown. Deodar is a Hindu word meaning ‘Timber of the Gods’, and the fragrant wood is sometimes used for incense in India.

The Californian Monterey Cypress (Cupressus Macrocarpa) is almost 10 metres in girth at 1 metre from the ground which is the largest in Co Laois. It has small brown cones. The tree is often flat-topped and spreads from its base.

Oak (Quercus Robur): This tree is 450 years old, and is known as a Champion or Veteran tree. It has been struck by lightning. Because of its age, it cannot reproduce from acorns, and the two year old tree beside it has been grown from a shoot. The oldest oak tree in Co Laois is at Abbeyleix and is 1000 years old.

The Japanese Maples (Acer) are medium-sized trees with beautifully coloured foliage in autumn – shades of red, gold and purple.

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Variegated Holly (Ilex): This holly has green and white leaves, and plenty of red berries in the autumn.

Monterey Pine (Pinus Radiata): This conifer comes from California. The egg-shaped cones remain closed on the tree for a long time. These trees are about 160 years old.

Yew (Taxus): Long ago there were yew trees in the Clochar garden just like those that can be seen in the formal garden. All Irish yew trees are the offspring of the yew tree in Florence Court Co Fermanagh which dates from the 1760s. Yew berries are poisonous.

The Himalayan Spruce (Picea Smithiana) comes from the Western Himalayas and has long narrow brown pine cones

Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga Menziesii) This conifer comes from Western Australia, and has small brown cones. It is grown mainly for its timber and is one of our tallest trees.

Sequoiadendron Wellingtonia This tree is the same as those on the avenue at the front of the house, which were planted in 1853 and named after the Duke of Wellington. The species originates in Western America, where the oldest specimen ever felled was found to be 3200 years old. It is the largest species on earth, and red squirrels are especially fond of its cones.

OTHER THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR

Laurel lawn: These low-growing shrubs were kept pruned and thick to give shelter to pheasants bred on the estate for shooting.

Statue of Huntsman and Dog

Haha: This is a ditch that separates the garden from the field where cattle were grazed.