The Birds, the Bees and the Trees


Mike Withers
Pat and Mike Withers have lived, worked and kept bees here at Highclere for more years that I can remember, although I must add, of course, that they are in fact incredibly young… In recent years, however, I seem to be all too often sitting them down with a mug of tea as they tell me about their latest crisis with at least one hive. Over the last year alone, two hives have been stolen and in another two hives all the bees suddenly died. In a sense theft happens because of the decline in bee hives as they become even more valuable.
An EU report of 2017 stated that “the beekeeping sector is vital for the EU and contributes significantly to society, both economically… and environmentally by maintaining the ecological balance and biological diversity, as 84% of plant species and 76% of food production in Europe are dependent on pollination by wild and domestic bees.”
This is food for thought. Highclere gives me a sense of place and it would seem that this is equally important for bees. They seem to have a capacity for learning and memory and huge disruption is not good for them, as I am equally sure it is not good for any of us.
As part of our efforts towards sustainability, Geordie and I have created a large wild flower meadow, planted wildflower field borders around the farmland, plan for long lasting seasonal flowers in the herbaceous beds and don’t prune or tidy too much. The latter is remarkably easy to achieve given that we currently have just three gardeners whereas 100 years ago there might have been as many as 25 looking after the grounds here. So we are practically imperfect, unlike Mary Poppins, but in a good way for wildlife.

A red kite wheeling slowly…
Equally, it is all too easy to focus on one area and forget others. Birds too are an interrelated part of the cycle yet too many species are declining. They need space and peace whereas we seem to crowd space and can forget to look for peace. Happily, at the moment, the lapwings are increasing in number here and we have at least six pairs of red kites. The other day I heard a swallow and I am looking forward to the fieldfares.
Birds need insects and trees: food and shelter. Like elsewhere in Britain, the once mighty elm tree can no longer be found at Highclere and soon we will also have no more ash trees here. I dread the idea of finding any acute oak decline which would truly decimate the parkland and woodlands here. I love the oak trees, not least for the history they represent – eight hundred years ago, oaks from Highclere helped build New College Oxford and Winchester College.
Nevertheless, there are, of course, still some fine trees here to give us pleasure and to provide a setting, a view, or some shelter. We keep on planting a variety of different species here both for their economic or aesthetic value but also simply for the value of the natural surroundings themselves which add so much to the spirit and heritage of Highclere.
One of my favourite poets is John Clare, an extraordinary 18th century man who lived through the enormous changes of the Enclosure Acts and the birth of industrialisation whilst recording the countryside he loved. He knew that the England he loved and that he grew up in was disappearing and spent the rest of his career reminiscing about a way of life that could never be recaptured.
I can’t help feeling that I don’t want to be doing the same thing over the course of the next few years.
Bees, trees and birds. I loved your morning chat. I only have a half acre but it’s full of beautiful trees and I let the Milkweed grow for the Butterflys. I try to plant for the Cardinals and Humming Birds and hang my feeders in the winter. Thank you for the uplifting gab today. I look forward to Mondays and your chats.
MaggieG
Thank you
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I love the pictures of the wild flower fields–the poppies are beautiful both in flower and as seed pods, while picture of the field of Queen Anne’s lace reminds of a favorite painting by American artist George “Frolic” Weymouth called “August”. I think I will also adopt the idea of “practically imperfect” for my garden–I have two acres and myself to take care of it, so it can never be anything but imperfect! Here in Southeastern Pennsylvania we are concerned about bees and birds as well, and most of us gardeners do what we can to support both important parts of our ecosystem.
Thank you for sharing so much of your life at Highclere and your concern for the beauty and health of our common world.
Dawn Lovejoy
I’d rather think of ‘imperfect’ as ‘natural’ and bee-friendly too!
Raise a glass or cup of coffee to practically imperfect !!!
Dear Dawn, Living where you do in Pennsylvania, you’ll surely know the grounds and conservancy surrounding the Brandywine Museum. I recall, back in the late 1980’s, when they first made a point of establishing a sustainable, wildife-“friendly” environment over all those acres surrounding the museum…….complete with staff/volunteers who led tours of the grounds and explained the principles behind what was, back then, a fairly radical concept to the suburbanites and city-dweller who came out for a day to see the Wyeth paintings. No grass lawns at that museum….just peaceful, riverside trails and places to sit, think, and watch. I spent about ten summers teaching down the road from the museum, and always admired its combined missions as a museum AND a nature conservancy.
Lucky you to live there
David, Rougemont, NC
Raising my cup to imperfect!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for your lovely pictures and thoughts; a joy to find.
Kind regards,
Lillie Palmer
MY DEAR LADY CARNARVON,
WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL.
Good Morning
Like you and John Clare I see so much of Americana slowly disappearing and it greatly saddens me. Not so much for myself but for my grandchildren and great grandchildren who probably will never know or experience the greatness of our past. Trees included.
Your Monday morning blog is weekly manna for my soul
Blessings…..RoseAnn Snyder, Jacksonville Florida
Thank you
Dear Roseann – I love your description of Lady Carnarvon’s blog – “weekly manna for my soul”
Hello Lady Carnarvon.
Not only the trees that suffer, but the wildlife they support in different ways.
A little story relating to fishing lake in Kent. The walk to the lake was along a path surrounded by ferns. In a clear area, there were a few of those red and white spotted toad stalls. Someone had placed a pixie cocktail stick in one of the larger ones.
Ever thought of trying to establish an orchard concentrating on the old English varieties of apple trees?
We have old crab apples around the Monk’s garden and we are re-establishing the old orchards behind the old kitchen garden. All the cottages here have fruit trees in them …
MY DEAR LADY CARNARVON,
WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL.
Good morning, Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for another beautifully written piece on such a timely subject. We are experiencing the same environmental issues here in the USA. I think it really is an international crisis. Bees declining, chemicals eradicating much needed flowering growth and insects, and huge numbers of birds completely wiped out. We are all connected – tip the balance of one, the balance is tipped for many. My parents, ardent conservationists, told me that weeds are actually “volunteers” – they have happily planted themselves and we should let them be. Dandelions become floral crowns, and the bees love them! Chemicals in the food chain kill more than their intended targets. It is so very sad.
I have walked your beautiful wildflower meadow (and listened to the sheep)and wandered past the incredible lavender borders. Your gardens, and all of the grounds, are a tribute to the connection with the wildlife around you! We are welcoming back the warblers and hummingbirds, and I so look forward to their return each Spring.
I look forward to your posts every Monday – many thanks!!
Best regards,
Charlotte Merriam Cole
We all need to do a bit…
Thank you, Lady Carnarvon, for giving voice to the magical powers of nature in the interplay between birds, bees and trees. I did not know John Clare and looked him up. His poetry is indeed often melancholy in its mourning of a time gone by. I am rejoiced, however, by your efforts to create sanctuaries for bees on your vast lands and of the consciousness behind such decisions, beyond beauty and gentler gardening, but looking actively toward the future and what we are here to protect.
John Clare is an amazing poet – the beauty of nature..
Thank you for your kind words. We do what we can.
Che meraviglia! Spero di visitare la vostra dimora – se non è lontanissima da Londra!
Dovresti visitarci! Siamo a circa un’ora da Londra in auto o in treno
Lady Carnarvon,
As I read your story this morning, I am at my breakfast table watching two bluebirds, one cardinal mom, a wren and several wrens flutter around at the several bird feeders in my backyard. Beyond the privacy fence are woods and wildflowers. Bees come to my butterfly bush, cornflowers and the small pot of lavender (bees are attracted to purple!). It is such a pleasure to see how we can not only enjoy our small friends, but also contribute to their survival. There is a wonderful new book called The Queen Bee, by Dorothea Benton Frank. It will be a favorite!
Martha Glass
Thank you for the book recommendation. We too have a lavender walk which is a-buzz in the summer.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I subscribed for your precious blog, to me, a few days ago. I definitely enjoy every comment about Highlclere ever since I saw “Downton Abbey”. I loved this series very much. Moreover, I was brought up in a private biligual school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am well aware of your intense history and culture. I was in London 2 years ago, too: lovable.
A big variety of bees, trees and birds are everywhere in my country. However, devastation is still going on. I hope you can keep on nurturing your gardens they way have, so far.
Patricia L.
We can only do our best for future generations.
It’s true about the bees and I think that if more of us kept hives things would be better ,my friend recently bought two empty hives for an area in her vegetable garden in her farm and waited a week then she said the miracle happened and the bees moved into them , they came in like a swift dark cloud and she was so thrilled about it .. nature is marvellous.. how awful to steal bees and disrupt things for them and the caring bee keepers.. I am truly tempted to get a couple of hives mysel for our farm I have to say your blogs are very inspiring as well as interesting lady Carnarvon thank you ..
Thank you! How lucky your friend was that the bees swarmed into her hives. I do enjoy visiting the hives with Mike and seeing the bees in action.
Thank you for sharing so much of your life.
Once again my Monday morning has begun with such a lovely letter with both uplifting and a bit of disturbing news. I remember the crash of bee colonies in the county where I lived; the county began daytime spraying from airplanes for mosquitoes. The largest and most productive honey production farm almost went out of business. Mr. Franks began a campaign against the poisoning during the day. Many people supported him. Since that time the county sprays in the evening with airplanes and trucks when the bees are supposed to be in their hives. That was 50 years ago. The mosquitoes have adapted; flooding has increased. Bees are almost unknown.
I did visit occasionally on my way through that county. Now, there’s no reason to visit because there’s no family in that area.
As responsible stewards of this one biosphere, it would seem wise to support the health of the bees. Your report of the steps taken at Highclere lightened my heart about this. Thank you so very much.
Ida
It is most strange as we don’t use any harmful sprays on the estate at all. We did have a visit from an expert who was perplexed as to why we had lost so many bees. I am happy to say that our newcomers seem to have settled in very well.
I regret the period that marks the end of your informative and heartfelt Monday morning blogs.
It means that our moment together has finished and I must shift from reverie to dealing with my responsibilities. And I feel so much better about doing so now that you have given me an understanding of practically imperfect! THIS we can do! You are a marvelous gift!
Southern California
Thank you.
Dear Lady Carnavon,
The world is changing and we are attending the first consequences of the climate change. I am writing from Belgium where I live. My wive Anita and I are lucky enough to enjoy a park of 1 acre and half, but this year we were seriously disappointed and sad. Indeed all our box trees (some more than a century old) have been attacked by a caterpillar coming from China (in French “ la pyrale du buis” ), that eat all the leaves. All the boxes are in danger on the continent. We had a lot of them so it is a catastrophe for us
Hope they will not cross the Channel!
Take care of your treasures and keep giving us news every Monday: it is like a delicious fudge to begin the week.
One day we will visit you.
Jean-Claude DERZELLE
I’m sorry to hear about your box plants, we have a lot of box hedging. But thank you for likening my blog to delicious fudge!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Today’s’ post was very meaningful for me. I belong to a Garden Club here in Englewood. We try to promote the importance of good stewardship towards our environment. We had an entire meeting devoted to the importance of Bees! It was so interesting and thought provoking. Florida plays an important role in the care of Bees because of our warm climate year ’round. You are so very considerate of the environment at Highclere. My hat is off to you and Lord Carnarvon. You have taken it seriously. The result is your ‘perfectly imperfect’ landscape. I love it!
Also in Florida is a terrible problem of unnecessary spraying around our precious waterways and lakes. As a result we have sick and dying fish and other water creatures. It is so upsetting to see pictures of diseased fish, dead Dolphins, and Manatees. When will they learn to conserve our precious resources rather than damage them? It is sad…what will be left when they kill off all of the Bees and Birds?
Blessings,
Sue Smith
It is indeed a tragedy for our wildlife. Every species has value and a role in our ecosystem.
I live in Minnesota where our bee population is dwindling. A friend of mine about 6 blocks away has many bee hives now to help them out. It has been very interesting to learn all about their habits, and I enthusiastically help them with tons of flowers on my property. The second year she had them I saw bees in my flowers…which mind you they hadn’t been there in years…and told them excitedly how pleased that Jan’s bees had come calling. They continue to come which as friends and neighbors we most certainly will continue to do. The hives will be transported shortly up north to fly around there as Jan is hosting family from Germany this summer. She didn’t feel she could host them and others who will come to meet them with so many bees on their property. Enjoying your informative blog.
Having too many bees sounds like a lovely problem to have!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for your wonderful blog, and the photo’s to brighten up, our miserable Monday, so much for flaming June!! I have noticed the bees in my garden seem to be very drowsy, and mainly on the floor. I also have various plants that bees love, I would hate to see them disappear, they do so much for the countryside and many wildflowers would also disappear, and where would we be without delicious Honey.
Best wishes
Lorraine.xx
Planting bee-friendly flowers is the very best thing we can do to help.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for caring about nature and our environment.
It made me sad to read about the theft of some of your hives and the death of some of the bees. I have a friend who is a beekeeper and when he shares the honey with me it is like I possess liquid gold. It is far superior to the processed stuff one buys at the grocer.
I love Monday mornings because I know when I open my email one of your wonderful blogs await me. Thank you .
Thank you
Here in Kentucky and Southern Indiana in the United States, I love this time of year because the tiger lilies grow wild along the roads and in flower beds at homes. It means summer has arrived!
Tiger lilies are an exotic flower here – how wonderful to have them growing wild.
I’ve missed something! Are you ending your blog for a short period, or more? Oh my! Please continue!
Martha G
No not at all. I enjoy the discipline of writing a weekly blog.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
It is wonderful to hear that you enjoy the discipline of writing. Your thoughts each week are a ray of sunshine. I always look forward to what the new topic may be each week. Your words are uplifting and always seem to pique my interest in new directions. This week’s post was no exception!
I hope one day you will write an autobiography.
Have a great week!
Mary
West Memphis, AR
I think the blog is enough!
Thank you for leading the way on this so important subject. Our health is dependant on nature, whether it is mental, physical, medicinal or nutrition. However small our plot we can all do our bit. Perhaps garden centre labels should have “Better for Bees” on them as a priority.
Gardening – digging and planting are good for us!
I wasn’t sure if I had time to read your blog this morning, but I’m certainly glad I made the time. I will keep my back yard a little less tame and allow the lavender to sprawl a bit over the path. The bees love it!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I look forward to your weekly posts. You always bring a smile to my face. My husband and I recently moved from the Princeton area of NJ to Port Ludlow WA, about ninety minutes from Seattle.
We live in paradise. My acre has honey bees, birds, wild flowers, and “deer” that come nightly. I was so excited when I saw my first honey bee. I’m sure my gardening friends on the East Coast heard the scream. Now I sending pictures of numerous bees on a single lavender plant and more. I hadn’t seen a single honey bee in the last ten years in NJ. They are such wonderful, calm, creatures. There is hope!
Please continue your good work. You are an inspiration for all of us.
Sincerely,
Deborah Cacho
It is all of us doing a little
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Life is ever evolving and we are constantly changing everywhere.
We can only embrace the changes and go with the flow
Thank you for your blogs.
Phyllis Simpson, USA
WOW! Love the idea of leaving it to go natural and wild – we try to do that here in my tiny piece of backyard heaven, but the weeds seem to want to take over! Thank goodness the California Poppy is a weed that we can just leave to its own – wish I could send a pic. Becoming friends with fellow readers of your blog is great! Happy Spring!!!
Wildness can take work too!
Whenever I stand under our rhododendron (now just finished blooming), I hear the happy sounds of “the murmuring of innumerable bees” as Tennyson described them. Thank you for your delightful glimpse into the bee kingdom and its keepers at Highclere.
I feel sad to hear about your elm and ash trees. Here in Canada we have a scourge called black knot which kills cherry and plum trees. Our plum fell victim to it, and no matter how many knots we sawed off, the tree languished into a leafless shadow. I resisted digging it up, but I mean, really, I ought to have. Nothing on the Internet suggested anything optimistic. Then I heard about neem oil spray (from trees in India) and thought, why not? So into more fresh wounds, I sprayed neem, then did so a couple of weeks later.
Next spring, the leaves all came back. The spring after that, there were nearly two dozen plums. Last year there were hundreds. (I make Amaretto plum jam from them and wish I could send you some.)
The point of all this optimism is that I’m just wondering if neem might save your ash trees. Just a thought. Neem is completely non-toxic to birds, bees, other insects and pets. It works wonders on my roses and other flowers too.
I appreciate yet again how you bring a glow to my Mondays.
I keep researching and would love to replant elms but am advised they would grow a little and then die.
Unbelievable!!!!!
Lady Carnarvon,
How splendid you wrote a story on bees !! I have always had a desire to look into beekeeping and at least try my hand at it. I had some close friends who owned some hives and sold their own honey . What a rewarding yet hardworking hobby!
We once had a swarm of bees in our tree on our lot – the size of a large urn, just swarming about all over each other! We called and a beekeeper came and convinced them all to get into his bee box with his smokers going. It was such a neat experience. I am definitely interested in looking into beekeeping further, if not only to help our our local beekeepers.
Take care,
Sarah Cameron
They are amazing insects – and delicious honey
Love the beautiful wild flower pictures and the one of the red kite. We get swallow tail kites here at Collier’s Reserve in Naples Florida. They come here to breed. Two years ago our golf course superintendent established the first of three butterfly gardens in our community. While I haven’t seen an abundance of butterflies, I have seen a few in the garden near our house. Bees too. It’s great what you are doing at Highclere to help these delicate creatures.
We have had so many cowslips- very good for butterflies!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I am so sorry to learn that two of your beehives were stolen. I know it’s not nice to wish bad karma on other people, but I cannot help hoping the miserable thieves got stung at least several times, right where they sit.
Thank you for your lovely blog, and for sharing so much about your life at Highclere with all of us. Looking forward to the new “Downton Abbey” film, and more views of your wonderful home.
Sincerely,
Naran R.S.
Maine, USA
Poor Pat and Mike – thank you for your kind comments!
Well, I am sorry to hear about the theft of two hives and the death of 2 hives. A friend of mine’s 3 daughters have bee hives and have quite the business of honey and soaps, candles. etc. Their Dad built them a little building and they have a gift shop at his floral and tree nursey…. Its really quite a nice thing.
Thank you for your great blogs and stories.
Lisa Cosgrove
Illinois
How about butterflies?
Do you have many fluttering ?
We planted the milkweed to attract them but they seem to be bypassing our neighborhood.
We do have quite a few but I think it takes time and diversity. Every year there is greater richness in the flower meadows, more insects and more noise
I am a new subscriber and if your blog today is typical I can’t wait for next Monday. Thank you so much for sharing.
Lin Miller
Tijeras, NM
USA
Thank you. If you have the time search for “The Office” which should make you laugh!!
A great story – thank you for sharing!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I can almost hear the hum of the bees and fluttering wings of the butterflies. Oh wait! That’s my yard. Every year I plant a row of Zinnias across the back of our very small residential lot. At the end of the season I gather brown flower heads, enough for next year. My Dad gave me seeds in the early 90’s and I’ve kept them going each year. It’s such an easy task and gives us so much pleasure in return. Even if it’s just a few clay pots with Pentas, Zinnies, Marigolds…anything that will keep the bees and butterflies going from yard to yard. Big or small we should all do our part.
Your relaxed approach is producing gorgeous results.
what a lovely idea – I plant trees and plants for people today those who are here in fact and those memory is treasured – our Wood of Goodwill
Our family always called pat the honey lady on the scooter x
She is a legend in her own lifetime and very precious – she is the boss!
Lady Carnarvon, I share your love of bees, birds, and flowers. I have several feeders in my back yard here in Cypress and take great delight in watching the bluebirds, cardinals, woodpeckers and more that visit every day. I’ve been trying to add more flowering plants for the bees and butterflies. If we all do our part, we can support the delicate balance of the wildlife.
Agreed
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
How I enjoy your Monday post here across the pond. I love the look of a natural garden, it’s what I have here in South Louisiana. I love your field of Queen Ann’s Lace. I had it in my wedding bouquet along with roses and heather.. all my favorite flowers. I applaud all your efforts to help the flora, fauna and wildlife.
Thank you!
Since I am perfectly imperfect, I appreciate your practically imperfect gardens and grounds. I am from a long line of nature lovers and much prefer natural landscaping. Love your blog. Recently noticed that an influx of dragonflies have replaced my wasps and bees. I have not been able to find information on this, but all our bees and wasps are gone, but dragonflies are abundant. Anyone who can spread light on this?
Nancy Redmond
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
How interesting I don’t know …
The world needs to redefine its definition of beauty, so that it can see the beauty in imperfection. Imperfection is organic, natural, ever evolving, and creating. Love gardening. Love the photos. Love this post, so timely.
Thank you
“I can’t help feeling that I don’t want to be doing the same thing over the course of the next few years.”
I guess many of us feel that way, change is not always easy whether it is for the better or not. Let’s just say that we look to the future with the knowledge that we can try and learn from the past.
Couple of years ago I read about the Honey Highway (A4) in the Netherlands and ever since we have tried to leave our garden “wild” in spring. One does have nice surprises, especially this year as we had a reasonably rare orchid growing (although someone came into the garden and picked it …) “Dame de Onze heures” was another nice surprise last year and this year we had an entire area with “Pinksterbloemen” (Cardamine pratensis), it made for a gorgeous cloud of little flowers.
We have rare bee orchids in our wildflower meadow, but luckily no-one has picked them – what a shame for you.
Lady Carnarvon,
The green areas at Highclere are spectacular. Those wild flower meadows have the most beautiful lilac color.
Loved you article but can’t believe people steal your bee hives. Terrible! You have such lovely trees. The Lebanese Cedars are our favourites. They are so unique and stand so majestically in your grounds. We miss them here in Switzerland.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Given the content of your blog this week and your reference to John Clare’s poetry, the following verse from his “The Lament of Swordy Well“ seems most apt. (For bloggers unfamiliar with this work, Swordy Well is an old limestone quarry and heath that John Clare has personified and speaks these words to the reader.)
“Ah me!—they turned me inside out
For sand and grit and stones,
And turned my old green hills about
And picked my very bones.
The bees fly round in feeble rings
And find no blossom by,
Then thrum their almost weary wings
Upon the moss, and die.”
Hopefully, Clare’s “warnings” from the 19th Century will receive greater recognition (& action) in this ‘modern’ time.
Yours faithfully,
Jeffery Sewell
Thank you Jeffrey!
Lady Carnarvon,
My wife and I toured Highclere and later attended your reception May 18. It was our first day in England and what a day it was! This is off subject, but I see that Jim Carter and The Chamber Orchestra of London will be performing at Highclere on June 22. What an event that would be if broadcast live or delayed to America. PBS should be all over this. Are there any plans to capture the event for later broadcast?
Thanks you!
I hope and they hope to do just that!
OUTSTANDING!!!!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Your blog is food for thought! I need to research John Clare. I collect antique poetry books, but I don’t think he is among them. Then I need to check my bird book to see the birds you mention. My regulars are cardinals and blue jays with the red headed woodpecker always nosing in. I have experienced the dark wave of bees when a neighbor’s bees left their hives. Thankfully, I was safely inside about to put my Lab out, when I didn’t recognize what I was seeing and didn’t slide the door open! My gardens are perfectly imperfect, unsprayed and blooming!!!
I’m finding bees and dragonflys, too.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us.
Shelley in Virginia
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I so admire your dedication to wildlife and flowers on the estate and beyond. In the USA it seems that bees, birds, flowers, wildlife are inconsequential. On my morning drive to my office recently, I have had to witness woods being ripped apart and I would drive past with a heavy heart knowing how the wildlife must be feeling. I love nature and hate to see that.
Your beautiful home and grounds is a wonderful compliment to what you are accomplishing.
I am supposed to be in London in June of 2020, but will miss the scheduled times for Highclere visiting-ahh, but I will plan another trip when you are open.
As always, Love reading your blog-such a wonderful thing in my day.
Sincerely,
Lynn Faircloth
Farmville, North Carolina, USA
Thank you – it is about respecting nature – it’s not all about us!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I have been enjoying your writing for a while now. I am saddened by your loss of your elms and soon your ash trees. Growing up in Chicago in the mid 1960’s we had a devastating Dutch Elm disease. In the early 2000’s Chicago and it’s suburbs were hit with the invasive Emerald Ash Borer which killed a lot of ash trees. Thankfully we were able to save our backyard ash with biannual injections by an arborist. What we used to call our little tree is now taller than our two story home. It provides wonderful shade for our deck, and currently home to two squirrel nests. Perhaps those injections can save your ash trees.
I look forward to reading more about your life at Highclere.
Sincerely,
Keith Jensen