Resilience..

Whilst starting to consider the theme for Chaumont sur Loire Garden Festival, Resilience, I immediately thought of the amazing recovery of the Big Basin Redwoods State Park, CA, which I was lucky enough to visit in August. Eighteen thousand acres of land were decimated by lightening fires in 2019, sweeping through 97 per cent of the old growth forest. Most of the redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) survived, but most of the canopy had gone. Exactly 2 years on, some of the park has reopened and the resilience of the trees is staggering:

New shoots are emerging from the basal roots and up the trunk. Ground cover is recovering and apparently wildlife is moving back in. Trees are incredible fighters!