Dear fellow gardener,
You may not know but storm Arwen completely wrecked a large section of our garden and despite our hard work for the last 2 1/2 months there is still so much to do. We have a wrecked boundary fence of around 500m. We have around 12 trees still to remove and have already completed the removal in excess of 15, some are 200 years old. The path system is in need of many repairs and one of our bridges has been smashed. I am very sorry but I do not think I will have time to do any talks this year especially since we still have to look after the remaining garden and propagation for the future.
A few kind ladies have set up a GoFundMe to help raise funds to cover the obvious costs of repair. It can be found under the fund raiser GoFundMe in the "comunity fundraisers" section"then type in the search"Help us Restore & Repair Cluny House Gardens" . This should give you a lot more information and we would be very grateful if you would be able to pass this information around your friends and members.
John & Wendy Mattingley
Go Fund Me Page :
click here 
History & Importance of Cluny House GardensCluny was created by Bobby and Betty Masterton. When they arrived in the early 1950s, there were a few trees on the site – conifers, beeches and oaks, but more notably two magnificent redwoods, one with a girth of over 11m. Although over 150 years old, these natives of North America are still youngsters as the trees can live for a thousand years.
The Mastertons had a particular interest in Himalayan and North American woodland plants which thrive in Cluny's rich, damp loamy soil. Many of the seeds they lovingly nurtured are now large trees, such as the Tibetan cherry, notable for its mahogany peeling bark. Since 1987 Cluny has been cared for by their youngest daughter Wendy and her husband John Mattingley.
The Terror of Storm ArwenOn the night of the 26th November 2021, Storm Arwen hit many areas of Scotland, causing fearsome damage. In some places, the highest recorded gusts reached 110mph. The storm's devastation has left a community wondering how to help restore and repair one of Scotland's incredible and essential gardens.
At beautiful Cluny House Gardens near Aberfeldy, in Highland Perthshire, the severity of the storm wreaked havoc, laying waste to massive heritage trees that caused further devastation to other precious plants as they fell. Garden owners Wendy and John Mattingley lay in bed, while the terrifying screaming noise of savage gusts of wind filled the night. The most brutal cyclone witnessed for over 30 years rampaged right over the garden. Cluny took a very hard hit.
‘In the house, the storm’s angry roar was louder than any we had ever witnessed before. Even interior doors and pictures shook with the force. We had to sleep on the ground floor for fear the windows would smash inwards. Explosive cracks and other petrifying loud creaking sounds filled the night as massive trees came down all around us. We were terrified of what would happen and what we would find as day broke,’ said Wendy.
See more on the Fund Raiser page from
this link 
