Tracing the roots of Andrew’s tree

Sophie explains: “In 2007, a team from Wakehurst travelled to California on a seed-collecting expedition, gathering seeds from a range of tree species, including the Coastal Redwood. The seeds were brought back to Wakehurst, where they were stored in the seedbank and later successfully propagated. One of those seeds planted on the estate was to become a very special tree for my family.  2007 was also a significant year for me too, as it was the year I started working at Wakehurst.

When Andrew died, there was never any question about where we wanted to lay him to rest.  Wakehurst was, and always will be, our special place. It is somewhere that meant so much to Andrew, he felt safe and happy there, it’s somewhere he and Thomas spent a lot of time whilst growing up and creating many happy memories. We had a family photo session there just two weeks before Andrew died, and it was the only location where he wanted to have the photos taken.  Colleagues of mine at Wakehurst were determined to help and allowed us to select a tree that was to become the memorial of Andrew’s life.

Neale and I spent a morning walking in the Pinetum, and it didn’t take us long to decide which tree was the right one, we just knew straight away – it was a beautiful Coastal Redwood tree. I loved the thought of Andrew being part of something that was living and growing.  A few days later, I visited this tree again with our friend Iain, who is the Head of Landscape & Horticulture at Wakehurst. I wanted to get his thoughts on the tree we had chosen, and he said that we couldn’t have chosen better.

Andrew was a kind, gentle but vibrant character who was an incredibly talented basketball player.  A quote from a book written by Richard Preston confirmed that the coastal redwood really was the right tree for Andrew. He wrote: ‘Botanists make a distinction between the height of a tree and its overall size, which is measured by the amount of wood the tree has in its trunks and limbs. The largest redwoods, which are called redwood giants or redwood titans, are usually not the very tallest ones. In this way, they are rather like people. A football player is often bigger than a basketball player – more massive, that is. The basketball player is taller and more slender. So it is with redwoods…..’

Fast forward seven years, we realised a dream by visiting Andrew’s “Mother” tree in California, again with the help of my colleagues at Wakehurst.”

“They provided me with the original records from their seed collecting trip all those years ago, including the exact coordinates of the donor tree. It took some time and persistence but eventually we found it! It was a special, emotional moment – the forest was so quiet, serene, heart-warming and there was an atmosphere of real closeness about it. I was expecting the tree to be a bigger version of Andrew’s tree, but the two trees look quite different. The trees grow much taller in that part of the world, the Mother Tree has a very tall trunk before the branches start, whereas the branches on Andrew’s tree come nearly all the way down to the ground.

We made the trip into a special holiday from start to finish, with stops in San Francisco, Carmel and Santa Cruz along the way, alongside of course the special time spent in the Forest of Nisene.

While we were in San Francisco we watched a baseball game, went to Alcatraz Island and Pier 39, amongst many other popular spots. We were lucky enough to see a pod of about 300 dolphins off the coast at Monterrey, which was amazing! Thomas loves old films, so we also spent time visiting some locations in Santa Cruz, made famous for being in the 80’s cult classic “The Lost Boys”. Also, we had heard about a disconnected rotary telephone at Ocean Beach in San Francisco where visitors can drop a pebble down a chute, pick up the receiver, and speak aloud to loved ones who have died, letting the wind and waves carry their words. When we visited, I telephoned Andrew, which was a very special moment for me.

Now back home in Sussex, we continue to visit Andrew’s tree at Wakehurst regularly, sharing with him stories of our trip.  Wakehurst is such a lovely place to visit Andrew and talk to him by his tree, it is where I will always feel closest to him. There are times when there will be a white feather waiting for me when I arrive, and there have been times when one has floated down and landed at my feet while I am sitting there. At other times, a robin appears. Signs like this are important and help to keep our connection alive.

Friends and other family members visit Andrew’s tree at different points in the year, and we had a special picnic there to celebrate what would have been Andrew’s 18^th Birthday. I have always felt comforted by the fact that I know Andrew would be happy to know that Wakehurst is his final resting place.”

You can find out more about our bereavement service, Momentum Echoes, here