heartwood . |
Stoneleigh : a natural garden Villanova , PA | 42 acres |
At Stoneleigh : a natural | |||
garden , a London planetree — | |||
close cousin to the native | |||
American sycamore — has | |||
towered over the Main House | |||
for more than 150 years . Its pale , | |||
mottled branches have shaded | |||
the gardens below , inspired | |||
artists and poets , and offered | |||
shelter to songbirds and | |||
other critters . | |||
Sadly , the tree is dying . | |||
Weakened by both sycamore | |||
anthracnose and canker stain , |
the London planetree was |
the core of the tree — the |
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no longer safe and had to be |
heartwood — softens and more |
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scaled back dramatically |
insects arrive . Woodpeckers , |
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earlier this spring . It now stands |
nuthatches , and chickadees |
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as an example of the value of |
tap holes into the crumbling |
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top : Samantha Nestory ; bottom : David Korbonits |
dying and dead trees to the environment , a tree sculpture that will be planted with native vines .
A tree ’ s death can serve a purpose as vital as its life . Beetles and other insects bore into the softening wood , creating openings for fungal spores and bacteria . Over time ,
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wood as they feast on the bugs , creating cavities for other bird species and mammals to use as nesting space or protection from winter ’ s chill . Mushrooms sprout from the bark while , on the ground , new plant species emerge in the newly available sunshine . |
Carolina Chickadee nesting in the tree sculpture
Every gardener knows that
change is part of tending a garden
. We invite you to visit Stoneleigh
to watch how the London
planetree changes in this new phase of its existence . W
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