Bamboo: Woodstock and Glynllifon
Woodstock Gardens and Parc Glynllifon gardens were renowned for their array of exotic and rare plants. Bamboo, a plant that grows mainly in tropical and subtropical regions is included in the Woodstock and Glynllifon plant collection.
There are a wide variety of bamboo plants. Bamboo can range in size with some species growing to over 60 metres in warmer climates. Although bamboo is part of the grass family it is considered to be one of the strongest building materials and it is used for construction in some countries. Some bamboo species grow at such a fast rate that it is possible to plant and grow your own bamboo home within five years!
The species growing in Woodstock are Sasa palmata, a dwarf variety of the same plant, Arundinaria japonica, and a fine leafed variety called Yushania anceps. The bamboo walk in Woodstock is a twisting foot-path that leads from the pleasure ground to the tiled house and grotto. It was most likely created in the 1850s and it is thought that the bamboo was planted the same time the path was constructed. An article published in an edition of the Gardener’s Review in 1869 makes reference to the bamboo, stating that it grew in abundance and reached 20 feet in places with stems as thick as a man’s wrist.
Bamboo was also planted along with New Zealand flax and other similar plants on islands in the miniature lake constructed as part of the rockery. The rockery is regarded as one of the greatest attractions in Woodstock Gardens. Contemporary reports state that the rockery had a subtropical character through the introduction of tropical plants.
Bamboos were first introduced to Britain in 1827, but it was the collection at Kew Gardens in 1891-92 that made them fashionable in gardens across the land. In the informal woodland gardens of Parc Glynllifon, many different bamboo specimens were planted along the banks of the river at around this period by the Hon. F. G. Wynne, the owner of Glynllifon Hall and estate from 1888 to 1932. The Hon. F. G. Wynne was an avid plant collector who added many exotic species of shrubs and trees to the gardens during his lifetime.
Many of the different species of bamboo planted at Glynllifon this time have survived and can be seen growing along the river’s banks today; for example the low growing but rampant Sasaella ramosa and Sasa veitchii, both native to Japan, have thrived here. The bamboo collection at Glynllifon also includes the tall and stately Semiarundinaria fastuosas, the Sasa palmata f. nebulosa, with it’s enormous leaves that can grow in the shade of evergreen trees and also the Pseudosana japonica with it’s straight papery canes. Fine leaved species such as the Fargesia nitida, native to China and the Yushania anceps native to the Himalaya are also growing at Glynllifon.
Bamboo has played and continues to play an important role in the life of people living in the tropics and the sub tropics. The plant has been used for centuries as a medicine and can treat a wide variety of illnesses depending on the part and type of bamboo plant used. Bamboo is also viewed as a symbol of strength and endurance and is used as part of religious ceremonies. It is also used for artistic and musical purposes.
Sources: The Bamboo Collection at Glynllifon Park by David Saunders (Welsh Historic Gardens Trust - Summer 1999)
