This week the Independent on Sunday published an article about William John Mitchell, who worked at Westonbirt Arboretum for 60 years, starting before 1900, and went on to become the first curator of Westonbirt in the 1920's. It has only recently become known to those outside Mr Mitchell's family that he kept detailed logs for the period 1928-1947, and these are now being transcribed, hopefully with the prospect of being published. The article includes excerpts from these notebooks as well as discussing the life of Mr Mitchell and some of the history of Westonbirt Arboretum. One of the themes Mr Mitchell's writings returned to, year after year, was the autumn display of the trees and the effect of the preceding season's weather on this display, a subject discussed more than once on this forum. The article makes for fascinating reading and hopefully the full diaries will be published someday. Here is a link to the article for those who may be interested to read more: A blaze of glory: The remarkable true story behind autumn’s greatest show of colour Under constant attack by the elements... One vote away from the chainsaw... That Westonbirt – the national arboretum – survives, is down to the work of one man. David Randall pores over his diaries Link to photographs accompanying the article
Very interesting Maf, thanks, I am looking forward to reading the whole thing. From the excerpts in the article I feel comforted with my own experience on the vital role played by abundant soil moisture just before the leaves start to change. Other parameters, like summer sunshine, seem to be secondary. This is a general statement which applies to most deciduous trees. Then you have some species that are more sensible to some other specific parameters. For instance North American maples seem to require abundant Fall sunshine, combined with good night frosting, for best display. Gomero
