Storm CIARAN hit the west of France on November 2, and like many other storms, it did a lot of damage here in the garden.
A lot of collection plants have fallen and been lost, and a first assessment has been made: so far,we have lost 39 trees or shrubs, 12 Eucalyptus, 3 Banksia and 3 Acacia, 3 Corokia, 4 Pittosporum, 2 Hakea and 3 Grevillea .
We have 17 dry losses, i.e. species that we only had in a single specimen. We've also lost Wriddingtonia cedarbergensis, but he's left us plenty of fruit. We're looking for Banksia cunninghamii and Grevillea olivacea. These are Proteaceae we'd like to get back for our collection.
This initial assessment is by no means exhaustive, as the damage will continue to be felt over the coming months, with trees and shrubs weakened, plants dried out by the wind, or weakened by the fall of other fallen trees.
A titanic task has been undertaken by the garden team since November 3 to cut, clean, shred and save the plants that can be saved. This is a time-consuming task, which must be carried out surgically to avoid making matters worse. The garden was also redesigned.
Added to this was the destruction of 3 of the 4 production greenhouses, and the plants they contained. This loss is complicated and will be very costly for the association.
We remain optimistic and in good spirits, and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has given us their support!
We hope to see you when the garden reopens next March, and we're keeping our fingers crossed!
Happy New Year to all, and good luck to those who are still in a complicated situation.
