A huge thank you to all the Tree Story tellers from the Carlow Garden Festival 2023 . These one minute Tree Stories from the Carlow Garden Festival range from simple heartfelt declarations for the natural world to historical stories from the 1700’s, from comical police searches for tree climbing gorillas to forest bathing
This story comes from the head gardener at Ardgillen Castle, Dominica Mc Kevitt , she speaks about some large trees which are lying horizontal in the Ardgillen grounds.
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Dominica’s words:
I’m Dominca Mc Kevitt, I’m the head gardener in Ardgillen Castle North County Dublin .
We have a fantastic Arbutus Unedo which is the Strawberry Tree, Native to Kerry in Ireland. It’s ..quite historic, and it has actually fallen so its actually horizontal , all the trunks are horizontal ,
you can see the fantastic colour on the trunks and then all the foliage is really near you and all the fruit and everything is really near you ,
and the red stems on the coloured fruit and then it flowers quite sporadically throughout the year .
We are.. beside the coast so we are in a mild area so it never gets any damage or anything . But it is a fantastic tree , there are a clump of trees together and there is an evergreen oak a …Quercus ilex that has also fallen .
So the massiveness of the trees is really evident to you when they are actually on the ground lying beside you so they are fantastic .
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Note:
The order of the following three dozen tree stories from the Carlow Garden Festival ( starting from video #44 ) on this webpage are roughly in alphabetical order of story tellers.
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Acknowledgments :
A huge thank you to the brilliant videographer Patrick Bramley for his unique combination of diligence and easygoing manner encouraging people to open up and share their Tree Story with us, to Eileen O ‘ Rourke of the Carlow Tourist office for the early stage brainstorming and the following support, to the Carlow Garden Trail and the participating venues listed here
An Gairdin Beo Community Garden , Carlow
Duckett’s Grove , County Carlow
Altamont Gardens and Altamont Plant Sales, near Tullow/Ballon
Huntington Castle & Gardens, Clonegal
Arboretum Home & Garden Heaven, Leighlinbridge
Borris House Gardens and Woodland, Borris
Kilgraney House, Bagenalstown
Hardymount Gardens, Tullow
Also sincere thank you to Carlow County Council Creative Ireland Carlow Funding without whose support the next three dozen Tree Stories on video would not have been possible.
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# 1 Teardrops After a Storm reflections on a Willow after the pandemic
# 2 Pomegranate Tree in balance with life and nature
# 3 Trees are like Humans shared characteristics between humans and trees
# 4 Old Ash–A Real Survivor resilience of an old ash in the Cork countryside
# 5 Tree Rings of Life parallel growth and development of people and trees
# 6 A Very Weird Elf roots and what grows beneath
# 7 Old Crabapple of Wenhua Dian ancient crabapple orchard in the Forbidden City
# 8 Standing Fast ‘ … weight is cherished when we care’ a poem on steadfastness
# 9 Feeling Good – Tree Song a song of joy and spontaneity in Daizu language
#10 Forest Breath – Tree Story ‘….400 million years of forest breath’
#11 Protective Peach – Tree Story …peach wood placed under a child’s pillow
#12 Bee Tree Sycamore can produce the same pollen of a half an acre of wild flowers
#13 Winter Apples ‘…a dim burn glistens from the frosted skin’ a poem on winter fruit
#14 Ancient Yew Trees the traces of a church moved brick by brick across the river 100 years ago
#15 Once I Counted Birds on one of the Cook islands where no people live (AGB -An Gairdín Beo April workshops 2023)
#16 Family Oak the passing of saplings through friends and family (AGB)
#17 When the Trees Say Everything finding your identity and way of life (AGB)
#18 Strawberry Tree Strawberry tree in ‘the Gairdin Beo’ community garden (AGB)
#19 Mother Oak and Baby Oak a link to Cnoc an Doirin (AGB)
#20 My Leylandii a seemingly bland tree linking past and present (AGB)
#21 Chestnut Repotted a volunteer working at ‘the Gairdin Beo’ community garden (AGB)
#22 Native Birch transplanting Irish Birch (AGB)
#23 Ethan’s Tree a heartbreaking story about a tree in Carlow’s town park (AGB)
#24 Holding Trunk of Time a haiku on the trunk of time (AGB)
#25 Our Mother’s Legacy a memory of teaching her children the latin names of plants (AGB)
#26 It Blossomed ‘… the power to change my mood’ (AGB)
#27 Always Trying To Hold Each Other Up ‘… a gentle breeze comes and they get excited’ (AGB)
#28 Wollemi Pine ‘…I am one of the oldest and rarest trees’ (AGB)
#29 Barrow Willow ‘…holding the river bank together’ (AGB)
#30 For What We Might Become ‘ ..roots clutching soil ripe with a lifeforce’ (AGB)
#31 Sheltering Beech growing up in the countryside a story with a shocking ending (AGB)
#32 Millennium Monkey Puzzle a story connecting family and time (AGB)
#33 Monterey Cyprus ‘…. the amazing woody wonder’ (AGB)
#34 Struggle On, Struggle On ‘.. blossoms brightly before being swallowed by its white cousin’ (AGB)
#35 Like A Chestnut imagining the journey of a chestnut in 1500’s while sitting under its tree (AGB)
#36 Head and Shoulders Above the Rest Californian Redwood, the giant, the king of trees (AGB)
#37 An Dair Sean Old Oak – ultimate wisdom (AGB)
#38 Trees for the Forest a reflection on centuries of fossil fuel use and a strive for regeneration (AGB)
#39 The year 1710 counting the rings on an old oak stump with forester Michael Sommers (AGB)
#40 I Feel at Peace a collaborative response to trees, from Delta Centre Hanover
#41 Chongqing Cedar the trees of Zhaomushan Park can pull the heart strings homeward
#42 Fire Vine Bauhinia Hani and the Dai cultures view this plant very differently (XTBG XishuangbannaTropical Botanical Gardens)
#43 Bamboo – Flutter a special bamboo used for cooking rice , it also has a unique flutter (XTBG)
#44 St Anne’s Oak childhood memory of being with her brothers and hiding from bullies (CGF – Carlow Garden Festival August 2023)
#45 Angie’s Umbrella Tree A weeping Elm holding twisted branches called the ‘granny’s chair’ (CGF)
#46 Berna’s Umbrella Tree a memory of outsmarting grandmother (CGF)
#47 Hawthorne , it gives and it gives…a fairy tree, a boundary tree , the blossoms smell divine ( CGF)
#48 Apple Tree Swing memories of a beautiful summers day (CGF)
#49 Forest Bathing 1 ‘ …throw out your yoga mats and settle yourself into the ground (CGF)
#50 Forest Bathing 2 ‘ …. you start to notice all the animals , the owls and the red squirrels (CGF)
#51 Mulberry when swiss watches were almost made in Waterford (CGF)
#52 Prunus Kanzan ‘…..It was like confetti. It was just such a remarkable sight to see.’ (CGF)
#53 Oak We absolutely love it! ‘…Children love playing on it and they have a swing on it’ (CGF)
#54 Pre-Famine Timber ‘….two and a half miles of river Slaney ’ (CGF)
#55 Slogged Apples ‘….We used to build huts up there on the tree’ (CGF)
#56 Ash Determined to stay put two sisters share a memory of an Ash in Ennis County Clare (CGF)
#57 Best Apple Tart in Headford ‘…four girls would stand under and shake it’ (CGF)
#58 Apple Tree of Clonmel …..a little plantation of apple trees in memory of people (CGF)
#59 Horizontal Arbutus Unedo ‘… when they are actually on the ground lying beside you ‘ (CGF)
#60 Euonymus Zones ‘….when April came she opened with a simple dress of sapling green’ (CGF)
#61 How big they can get ‘…to see them growing up over the years’ (CGF)
#62 Autumn Maple a family tradition of Sunday walks in the park (CGF)
#63 The Magic of Moss the impact of a moss covered tree on a non verbal young boy (CGF)
#64 Gallipoli and the Sycamore planted in the early 1900’s by Anthony Wheatley (CGF)
#65 Liquid Amber ‘…..full leaf colour , red orange yellow absolutely aflame ‘ (CGF)
#66 Hardymount Chestnut ‘….when half of it fell down it kept us warm for about a year’ (CGF)
#67 Silver Birch – a gentle and lovely ending ‘……it just gently fell, like a kind of a yawn’ (CGF)
#68 Keeping Black Bird Company ‘… for years it appeared that the same blackbird came back(CGF)
#69 Tulip Tree ‘….. It was said that after about 15 years it would bloom ‘ (CGF)
#70 Itea Iliciafolia ‘……So every year it reminds me …’ (CGF)
#71 Silver Birch Moonlight ‘…. the full moon was right smack in the middle of the three of them’ (CGF)
#72 The Shape of it how to recognize Silver Birch and Oak (CGF)
#73 The Missing Gorilla mistaken identity, one of the rare few funny tree stories ! (CGF)
#74 The Tree House ‘…. we spent many years down by the river ‘ (CGF)
#75 Bat Burglars recall how their trees introduced birds and bats to the garden (CGF)
#76 The Perfect Conker a boyhood quest to find the best one (CGF)
#77 Ginkgo Biloba and Sweet Gum Rachel Doyle tells of her favourite trees (CGF)
#78 Ash The Horse Whisperer training horses under a huge Ash tree (CGF)
#79 Healers A story of healing and a love of trees (CGF)
#80 Fairy Ash an old ash with burly roots holding little pools of water (CGF)
#81 Under the Oak memories of growing up on a farm surrounded by trees (CGF)
#82 Date Palm The life line of the Arabian Dessert for thousands of years
#83 Willow – Branching out preventing the felling of a tree on the grounds of an embassy
#84 Tree Bee Hive creating natural habitats for honey bees
#85 Flaky Bark Birch the unexpected sight of red flaky bark flickering in the wind (CECS Chengdu Europe Culture Season -May 2024)
#86 Devine Tree of SanXingduia lyrical response to largest archaeological bronze treesculpture (CECS)
#87 Pagoda Tree a former residence of a French poet at a taoist temple in the woods (RUC-CW Mount West series)
#88 Encounter Reflections in Dr Bussières garden (RUC-CW Mount West series)
#89 Maples of a Hundred Years two special maple trees in Xishan (RUC-CW Mount West series)
#90 French Chestnut …time has condensed into a deep point in me’ (RUC-CW Mount West series)
#91 The Greatest Blessing caretaking for plants and animals is a blessing (A4 artist residency Chengdu Sept-Oct 2024)
#92 Little Red Basin childhood memories (A4 artist residency)
#93 Ginkgo of Baihuatan Chengdu Ginkgos (A4 artist residency )
#94 Trees of Fuhu Temple the special wood of nanmu (A4 artist residency)
#95 Magnolia Tree being stopped in your tracks by an unexpected sight (A4 artist residency)
#96 A Place called Fairy Tree A magical tree that can no longer be found (A4 artist residency)
#97 A Tree Transplanted finding the same tree everywhere (A4 artist residency)
#98 Different Branches solitary explorations in the park (A4 artist residency)
#99 The Trees are Whispering Contemplating woodland communications (A4 artist residency)
#100 Euonymus acquifolium Plant Hunter (A4 artist residency)
#101 Tree Dance Austria A choreographer spends a week with a tree (A4 artist residency)
#102 Tree Shadows … interplays with light as it swings in the breeze (A4 artist residency)
#103 Two Trees interdependent attachment, love and growth (A4 artist residency)
#104 Children’s Games The games that we play (A4 artist residency)
#105 The Highest Climber A point marked by chalk from the class room (A4 artist residency)
#106 Tenacity A careless moment turns to courage and resilience (A4 artist residency)
#107 Osmanthus Tree fragrant tree taken down (A4 artist residency)
#108 Blue Eucalyptus the persuit of Art and Nature (A4 artist residency)
#109 Home a micro perspective An ecosystem that feels like home (A4 artist residency)
#110 Grandma’s Walnut and Mulberry The passing of time (A4 artist residency)
#111 Under the Shade of a Tree A semi open space (A4 artist residency)
#112 Rowan – Mountain Ash berries and mistlethrush
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Open Call for your just a minute Tree Story on video
Memory Palace of Tree Stories is a socio-ecological art practice which invites you to tell a story or share information about trees . It is a creative-led social enquiry of how we can live well for both personal and collective wellbeing. Your story can be any kind of tree story , a personal tree story, an ecological tree story , an environmental tree story, an historical tree story or even a botanical tree story. I do hope you can contribute a comment on how we can live better with the greater community of life.
The year 2023 we continue to gather your stories in the form of one minute videos and we are really looking forward to hearing your tree story . I can be contacted directly on this platform or on the contact page on this website.
Niamh Cunningham