PRESS RELEASE
15 November 2024
Fabulous festive firs
Just what does it take to produce a top quality Christmas tree at Hole Park
Christmas is a very special time of year and standing at the heart of celebrations for many families will be a Christmas tree. Perhaps it's one at the centre of your community, in a school or church hall, but most likely it's the festive focal point in your home.
Hole Park Estate, near the village of Rolvenden in Kent, has been providing the finest quality Christmas trees for more than 60 years - one of the few Christmas tree growers based in the county and one where trees can actually be bought direct by the public.
Ten-year cycle
Up to 20,000 trees are planted every year at Hole Park, with roughly a ten-year growth cycle1. Little saplings, no more than 20cms (about eight inches) tall, are taken from selected seed sources that are known to produce the very best format of trees - not too leggy with nice, thick foliage.
At this point the trees are already three years old; it will take another seven years for them to reach a height of seven or eight foot tall, with Hole Park's most popular seller being just six foot. They can then be harvested, and the whole cycle begins again.
Constant care
Every tree needs constant, year-round attention during its life, and throughout the year, to maintain its health and to help develop its shape and form because none of these trees would grow to be perfect examples without intervention from the dedicated Hole Park forestry team.This includes regular pruning, bud picking, leader trimming and monitoring for pests and diseaseswhich might harm the growing trees.
According to Estate Foreman, David Purnell (pictured on the left with two of his team), rarely a day goes by when the team is not carrying out tasks in the plantation and even at quieter times during Summer regular checks on the trees will be made. "At our busiest it can mean 14-hour days, even in the depths of winter, but the effort is always worth it when we come to harvest the results."
The plantations - about 65 acres of them - are also a haven for some welcome forms of wildlife too, such as song birds, butterflies and bumble bees. Although the trees are not grown organically,chemical and fertiliser treatments are kept to a minimum.
Harvest preparation
The preparation for harvest starts in August, once the annual growth cycle is complete, with the trees being individually measured and labelled. To help ensure their optimum condition over the Christmas period, the selected trees - around 16,000 each year - are cut at the last possible moment before dispatch to the many outlets which regularly stock Hole Park Christmas trees.
Hundreds will also be made ready for members of the public to buy direct from the Estate's wood yard, with many customers returning year after year due to their exceptional quality. Some Hole Park Christmas trees travel to homes and businesses as far afield as Birmingham and the West Country.
Opening times
Hole Park's wood yard will become a hive of activity this year from Monday 18thNovember until Friday 20thDecember 2024, as customers once again start to arrive to choose that special tree which will take its place at the centre of their Christmas celebrations.
The wood yard is open seven days a week from 10am-4pm during this period when foliage - a by-product of the harvest - Christmas wreaths, wood carvings and supplies of the Estate's sustainable firewood are also available.
For more information on Hole Park Christmas trees and the Estate's sustainable firewood, visit: www.holepark.com
-ends-
For further information please contact: Alison Miles, Press Office, Hole Park Estate, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Kent TN17 4JA
M: 07900 691116
Notes to Editors:
- The most popular species of tree, the Nordman Fir, takes 9-10 years from planting to reach 6ft. Christmas trees are traditionally still measured in feet and inches, rather than metres and centimetres.
Hole Park is a proud member of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCTGA).
Hole Park is pleased to be certified by Woodsure as a "Ready to Burn" Supplier of sustainably-sourced firewood
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About Hole Park
Nestled in 200 acres of classic English parkland,Hole Park is a hidden gem of the High Weald National Landscape. It has been owned by the Barham family for the past four generations, having been purchased as a family home by Edward Barham's Great Grandfather, Colonel Arthur Barham, in 1911.
In the mid-1920s the Colonel made the bold decision to share the beauty of his recently-created gardens by opening them to the public: a tradition that is maintained to the present day. Over the decades, each succeeding generation has improved and innovated the layout and planting in the gardens.
The current custodians, Edward and Clare Barham, moved into Hole Park with their three children and dogs in 2003. Since then, they have undertaken a comprehensive re-planting program of the garden which reflects and enhances the Colonel's original plans from the 1920s.
Edward and Clare both take an active role in managing the gardens. This includes public opening days, so they are often found selling tickets in front of the house, serving in the Tea Room or walking their dogs around the gardens.
The Hole Park Garden Year
Spring Highlights
Visitors to the gardens in early April will see swathes of crocuses, narcissi and daffodils. A pretty ‘Camelia Walk' with shade-loving hellebores takes walkers down a path flanked by flowering cherry trees. Before the bluebells take centre stage, the meadows and woodland floor are a sea of primroses and dainty blue scillas. Magnificent mature magnolia trees will also be flowering throughout the gardens and woodlands.
In May the gardens are full of tulips, roses and clematis and the vineyard garden has several impressive standard wisterias to admire. Rhododendrons and azaleas flower throughout the gardens and delicate wild orchids will start to flower in the meadows alongside the architectural spires and star-shaped flowers of ‘camassia'. The sundial garden provides an interesting view over the Wealden countryside through an oval shaped window in the topiary hedge.
Summer Highlights
Visitors to the gardens in the summer months can see the recently renovated long herbaceous borders. Half the border has been replanted in the original pink and blue planting scheme first used by the late Christopher Lloyd when he first designed the border at Hole Park. The remainder of the border was replanted using the original colour scheme of yellow and white. Visitors can also find a riot of colour in the Centenary Garden (formerly the Rose Garden) planted in 2023 to celebrate 100 years since the original completion of Hole Park's gardens by Col Arthur Barham.
Late Summer and Autumn Highlights
The late flowering agapanthus ‘Hole Park Blue'and colourful exotic border with its cannas and dahlias are an impressive sight in late summer before the reds, yellows and golds of autumn appear, bringing colour and interest to the gardens in October.