Way back in 1992 over 20 years ago I bought this yew tree off Gordon Duffet, it cost me the two weeks wages and Kevin Willson said I was a brave guy to take on this tree as it did not look very well at all. The tree was positively sick; the needles were yellowing and much of the deadwood rotten. The box was an old beer bottle crate that was held together with a rotting strap… the whole assembly ready to fall apart at any moment. The tree appeared to be planted in garden soil, BUT I could see potential in the tree.
This is a tree much admired by Dan Barton and… at an Event that I held in 2006… I gave the tree on permanent loan to Dan, to be returned to me at some (indeterminate) point in the future. Good trees take time, great trees take years…Here is how the tree looks today.