A Charity Walk Results In More Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen

On Saturday the 5th October 2013 me and Nat took part in the annual Walk The Thames event organised by the London Legal Support Trust to help raise money for the Mary Ward Legal Centre, one of many organisations facing the grim reality of life in Coalition Britain. We set off, with 4 colleagues, ridiculously early from Canary Wharf with our final destination Putney Bridge being a mere 20 miles away. We were very fortunate to be blessed with perfect weather for the occasion and the Thames side walk was extremely enjoyable, even though by the end of the day we were all pretty knackered.

Our Team At The End Of Our Walk

However, I'm sure people are wondering what this all has to do with my quest. Well to cut to the chase part of the route took us on a diversion around Hyde Park in order to make up the full 20 miles required for the day. We had decided to stop off at the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen for something to eat and took a small diversion from the proscribed route to get there. It was as we sauntered along that I suddenly spied not 1 but 2 Monkey Puzzle Trees standing proudly to my right. I froze on the spot pointing to my 'discovery' with a ridiculous happy grin on my face. What my boss Suzanna, who was one of our party, thought I can't imagine but whatever it was it didn't stop me from skipping like a little child towards the two lovely Monkey Puzzle trees.

Hyde Park - Google Street View

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 6        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 1

Unsurprisingly Kew Gardens Has Monkey Puzzle Trees!

My lovely girlfriend Nathalie recently went to the magnificent Kew Gardens as part of her RHS course that she is studying for. I of course pestered her endlessly to check whether or not they had any Monkey Puzzle trees there and if so could she take some photos for me. With hindsight I could have simply checked their website and discovered that yes they do have a Monkey Puzzle tree  - http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Araucaria-araucana.htm - in fact they have a number of them:

Location Of Monkey Puzzle Tees At Kew Gardens (Red Markers)

However, as explained before, I will only count all of these trees as one tree to see until I actually see them, at which point I will count them individually as trees seen.

Still my pestering was worthwhile as it resulted in these two photos of the tree planted at Kew in 1978.

Kew Gardens - Not Yet Seen

Kew Gardens - Not Yet Seen

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 4        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 1

Monkey World Where Else?

It shouldn't come as a surprise that someone who loves Monkey Puzzle trees so much also has a ridiculous love of monkeys too. In order to sate my monkey obsession last August me and Nathalie went down to Dorset to pay a visit to the amazing Monkey World. Anyone who has watched the TV programme Monkey Life will know that Monkey World is a sanctuary for over 250 primates set in woodlands in Dorset - as they say "Monkey World assists governments around the world to stop the smuggling of primates from the wild. At the Centre refugees of this illegal trade as well as those that have suffered abuse or neglect are rehabilitated into natural living groups." It is a place dedicated to helping these poor animals and to help them regain some form of normality for the rest of their lives. It is truly depressing that in this day and age the human species can still treat such magnificent animals with such cruelty and disregard but then again it is great to know there are people like those who work at and run Monkey World prepared to do something about it.

We spent a wonderful long weekend camping beneath the stars right next door to Monkey World, which had the added bonus of being able to hear the gibbons sing their love songs at daybreak. The visit itself was more than I could hope for and to top it all off amongst all the lovely trees inside Monkey World we were delighted to spot a sweet little Monkey Puzzle tree, sadly I neglected to take any photos of it but will rectify that next time I visit.

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 4        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 0

My First Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen Since My Quest Began

The first two Monkey Puzzle Trees I've 'found' since beginning this quest were unsurprisingly very local to where I live. The first was in Harrington Square Gardens, a small public square close to Mornington Crescent tube station. On my way to work a year ago I happened to look out of the bus window as we passed by and there to my delight was a very small recently planted Monkey Puzzle Tree.

Harrington Square - Google Street View

I am happy to report that the tree has survived its first winter and is looking very healthy.

Harrington Square (NW1)

Harrington Square - Nathalie

The second Monkey Puzzle tree was pointed out to me by my girlfriend Nathalie. It lives in a front garden on Junction Road in Islington and despite the terrible traffic pollution it's looking like it is thriving.

Junction Road (N1)

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 3        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet  To See - 0

An Evening With A Monkey Puzzle Expert

Back in November 2012 I was very lucky to be given the opportunity to attend a talk by Dr Tim Upson, Curator and Acting Director of Cambridge University Botanic Garden, entitled ‘From Cacti to Monkey Puzzles: Botanical Highlights of Chile’. I'm not usually one for these kind of events but Nathalie my girlfriend assured me, having attended similar talks in the past, that it would be worth making the effort. Obviously the title of the talk had got me very interested and so I willingly went along to Canning House in Belgrave Square to here the distinguished doctor deliver his talk.

As we approached the imposing building the talk was to be held in I began to have my doubts about the wisdom of saying yes to going. Even the chance to hear an expert and enthusiast discuss Monkey Puzzle trees didn't seem enough to overcome my feeling of being a fish very much out of water. Again Nathalie was able to convince me it would be worth the effort and with the promise of a free drink courtesy of the Embassy of Chile I entered no 2 Belgrave Square. The building was more impressive inside than it was foreboding from the outside and we were directed upstairs to the room the talk was to take place in by two very friendly security staff.

Sadly I can't recall what was said in any detail but I do remember that Dr Upson's talk was very informative and extremely entertaining, his knowledge of the plants of Chile was impressive and his love for the Monkey Puzzle tree was clear to see. How glad I was that Nat had encouraged me to go as it was probably one of the best talks/lectures I've ever attended. As we left the plush surroundings of Belgrave Square I thought to myself that I really should try and see as many Monkey Puzzle trees as I could.

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 1        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 0

Explaining My Counting System

At the bottom of each post I will be including the following information, which on the face of it is very simple and obvious:

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 1        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 0

However, as I begin to hear of more and more Monkey Puzzle trees to go and see I've decided to add one condition to these statistics. The simple proviso is that if I am informed or read about a number of Monkey Puzzle trees in one location, like Kew Gardens or other park, I will only count this as 1 tree to be seen, however once I have seen the individual trees I will count each one separately in the Monkey Puzzle trees I've seen total.  If there are a number of Monkey Puzzle trees in different locations, such as roads, which are close to one another I will count these separately.

Even though I may still post about them including pictures, I will not include in the totals any Monkey Puzzle trees that I see in nurseries, garden centres etc.

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 1        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 0

The Beginning Of My Love For Monkey Puzzle Trees

Ever since I was a small boy I have loved the Monkey Puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). I can still remember how excited I was when my Mum & Dad bought home a tiny specimen to plant in our small back garden when I was still at junior school.

Aldbury Road - Alison, Grahame & Me With The Newly Planted Monkey Puzzle Tree

This tiny tree seemed to love its new home and grew into a very lovely example which always brought a smile to my face when I visited my parents as an adult. Sadly due to the utter stupidity of their neighbours who decided to put a 'swimming pool' in their garden, which to be fair was more like a giant paddling pool, unsurprisingly one night the 'pool' collapsed flooding my parents garden with chlorinated water that more or less killed my precious tree instantly.

Aldbury Road - Alison, Grahame & Me With The Newly Planted Monkey Puzzle Tree

However, my love of the Monkey Puzzle tree has never died and I still get as excited as 'little Dave' did every time I see one of these beautiful trees. I have therefore decided to start this blog as a record of all the Monkey Puzzle trees I've seen and all the trees I have been told or heard about but have yet to see.

I will be updating a Google Map as I go which can be viewed here - https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zJ2gPrp_B9TA.kozK0y-gebV8

Update (02nd March 2104) - another photo of my Monkey Puzzle tree taken in 1983.

My Monkey Puzzle Tree At Aldbury Road In 1983

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 1        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 0