Saturday 18 September 2021, 10am to 5pm.
Pallington, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 8QU.
Book your tickets HERE
Tree Benefit Day at Sculpture by the Lakes
Multi-award-winning sculpture park, garden and wildlife haven Sculpture by the Lakes in Dorset is hosting a day to raise funds for an international tree society helping to protect and preserve rare trees around the world.
The event, in support of the International Dendrology Society (IDS), is on Saturday 18th September 2021, and will be open to both members and non-members, with 50% of the £12.50 entry fee, which must be booked online, donated to the IDS.
Sculpture by the Lakes, described as one of the beautiful and unique sculpture parks in the UK, is set across 26 acres near Dorchester, alongside Dorset's SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) River Frome, with three large lakes, several small ponds, spring-fed streams and meandering woodland paths, as well as more formal gardens and a quarter acre kitchen garden.
Opened first in 2011, the sculpture park was created by sculptor Simon Gudgeon and his horticulturist wife, Monique. Starting with a completely blank canvas, the couple have planted over 4,500 trees, shrubs, and perennials, placing sculptures and creating art installations among the trees and planted areas.
Monique said:
“I am a keen supporter of the IDS and its fantastic work around the world. Preserving trees and shrub species that are now sadly under threat is something I think carefully about in my own planting here.
“Since we moved here in 2007, we have constantly added new trees and woody plants to extend the range of the gardens and improve biodiversity. The gardens are still evolving and many areas are yet to show their full glory, but already it has come alive with rich and diverse habitats teeming with animal and bird life.”
New trees include the highly endangered Paulownia kawakamii from Taiwan, Betula megrelica - known to grow only in one or two locations in the Caucasus mountains in Georgia - as well as the rare Japanese spruce Picea koyamae, several Aesculus species including A. wilsonii, A. pavia and A. assamica, and many others. The park is also applying to hold the National Collection of Forsythia.
