As promised, I give a listing of the contents of the Harmac Arboretum, sorted in numerical order of planting block, and thus roughly sorted by date. Botanical and common names of the trees are as given on their signs, which are not always completely legible.

Block No.4: Quercus robur, red oak, widespread Europe, Asia + [illegible], planted 1956
Block No.5, Pinus pinaster, maritime pine, Mediterranean France, Portugal + [illegible], planted 1956
Block No.6: Pinus jeffreyi, Jeffrey's pine, southwestern USA, planted 1959
Block No.7: Robina psuedoacacia, black locust, central + eastern USA, planted 1956

Block No.9, Pinus nigra var. calabrica, Corsican pine, Spain, Corsica south, Italy, Greece, 1956

Block No.11: Pinus pinaster, maritime pine, Mediterranean France, Portugal, Algeria, planted 1956
Block No.12: Acer negundo, Manitoba maple, eastern North America from Ontario + New England to Texas + Florida, planted 1962

Block No.14, Pinus taeda x rigida, loblolly - pitch pine cross (hybrid), Placerville, California, planted 1956
Block No.15, Pinus ponderosa, yellow pine / ponderosa pine, interior mountains of western North America, planted 1956
Block No.16: Chamaecyparis lawsonia, Lawson cedar, southwest Oregon, northwest California, planted 1956
Block No.17: Catalpa speciosa, northern catalpa, limited range eastern U.S., planted 1962

Block No.19, Pinus murrayana x banksiana, pine hybrid, planted 1956
Block No.19B, Cornus alba, Siberian dogwood, Siberia to Manchuria and North Korea, planted 1976

Block No.22: Betula papyifera, paper birch, throughout most of Canada, Alaska, Northwest Territories, Yukon, northern U.S.A., planted 1976

Block No.24A: Picea engelmanni, Engelmann spruce, western North America, planted 1962
Block No.24B: Abies lasiocarpa, subalpine fir, high elevations, western North America, planted 1974
Block No.25: Pinus resinosa, red pine, Great Lakes region of Canada, southwestern Manitoba and Minnesota east to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia + New Jersey, planted 1956
 
Block No.28: Sequoia gigantia, giant redwood, California - western slopes of Sierra Nevada, planted 1966 and 1970
Block No.29: Sequoia sempervirens, California redwood, coast of southern Oregon to southern California, planted 1966
Block No.30: Picea glauca, white spruce, throughout Canada + northern U.S.A., planted 1956

Block No.33: Pinus sylvestris, Scots pine, throughout [illegible: bullet hole in sign] + north Asia, planted 1972

Block No.35A: Almus pumela [sic: should be Ulmus pumila ?], Siberian elm, northern, central Asia, planted 1972
Block No.36: Picea amorika, Serbian spruce, Yugoslavia, planted 1962
Block No.36A: Tsuga canadensis, eastern hemlock, east of Rockies in Canada, from Nova Scotia + New Brunswick west to Ontario + east Minnesota, south to Delaware, south Michigan
Block No.37: Larix eurolepsis, Dunkeld larch (hybrid X), planted 1962

Block No.40C: Viburnum opulus, high-bush cranberry, interior British Columbia with scattered rare sightings throughout the province, planted 1973

Block No.41B: Populus trichocarpa, black cottonwood (cuttings from Plus tree no.1 1974), Pacific Northwest from Alaska to California, found throughout BC, planted 1974
Block No.42: Tsuga heterophylla, western hemlock, west coast of North America, extending from southwest Alaska to northern California, planted 1966-1973
Block No.42A: Tsuga mertensiania, mountain hemlock, high elevations of western North America, planted 1974

Block No.44: Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, yellow cedar, western [illegible], planted 1966.

Block No.45B: Betula lenta,  sweet birch, southeastern Canada and U.S.A., planted 1976

Block No.48: Thuja plicata, western red cedar, western North America, planted 1966
Block No.50: Abies amabilis, Pacific silver fir, northwestern North America, planted 1973.
Block No.51: Pinus banksiana, jack pine, Arctic circle to northern U.S.A., planted 1970.

Block No.54: Picea abies, Norway spruce, Europe, planted 1966

Block No.56: Pinus contorta var. latifolia, lodgepole pine, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast from Alaska to Mexico, planted 1970
Block No.57: Pinus contorta var. contorta, shore pine, Pacific Coast from Alaska to Oregon, planted 1963
Block No.58: Betula japonica, Japanese birch, northeast Asia + Japan, planted 1973

Block No.60: Chamaecyparis obtusa, Hinoki cypress, south + central Japan, planted 1973
Block No.61: Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese cedar, Japan, planted 1973.

Block No.62: Pinus contorta, shore pine, Pacific Coast from Alaska to Oregon
Block No.65: Libocedrus decurrans, incense cedar, Oregon to lower California at higher altitudes, planted 1977

Block No.67: Pinus parvifolia, Japanese whitepine, Japan, planted 1977
Block No.67A: Pinus rigida, pitch pine, eastern North America, planted 1977
Block No.68: Abies magnifica, California red fir, Oregon + California, planted 1977
Block No.69: Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine, mountain regions, southern British Columbia to Mexico, planted 1977
Block No.70: Pinus strobus, eastern white pine, southeastern Canada + northeastern U.S., planted 1977
Block No.71: Pinus muricata, Bishop pine, coastal California, planted 1975

Block No.83: Quercus palustris, pin oak, eastern U.S., planted 1977

Block No.89: Corylus avellana, Filbert hazelnut, southeastern Europe + western Asia, planted 1978

Block No.115: Cedrus libani, cedar of Lebanon, Lebanon, planted 1977

Block No. [illegible: 166A?]: Larix sibirica, Siberian larch, northeast Russia + western Siberia, planted 1977

Block No. [illegible]: Picea glehnii, Glehn's spruce, planted 1976

Block No. [illegible] Thuja plicata, western red cedar, eastern [sic?] North America, natural

Editorial note: this journal entry is an indexing place-holder for a subsequent one with additional notes and the images of the trees themselves. The images are in-process of being edited to reduce their file-size.


-------------------------------------

Ainscough/Hume 'Harmac' Arboretum: a forgotten jewel of our silvicultural heritage

Tucked away in the southwestern corner of the City of Nanaimo, off Phoenix Way (just inside its junction with Maughan Road), near the Harmac pulp-mill and the (now dismantled) Island Phoenix sawmill, is the rambling, overgrown, delightfully-wild Ainscough/Hume Arboretum.

The arboretum, shown in this aerial photograph from the summer of 2006, is a 5-hectare collection of trees from all over the world, gathered by foresters working for the now-dissolved forestry firm, MacMillan Bloedel. The arboretum was founded by industrialist H.R. MacMillan in 1956, and abandoned sometime in the mid- to late 1980s. At its peak, it contained approximately 170 species and varieties of conifers and broadleaf trees.

The arboretum lands (outlined on a Regional District  aerial photograph  with overlain land boundaries) are now owned by the Regional District of Nanaimo, thanks to a land purchase by its Environmental Services Department in 2005. The arboretum is now maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers, who keep the grass between the trees roughly mowed. The parcel of land immediately east of the arboretum is the former Macmillan-Bloedel Tree Improvement Centre (the 'seed orchard' and 'clone bank' site referred to in some Ministry of Forests reports).


Here we look southeastward into the arboretum from its parking area. The small pedestrian gateway is marked with a yellow 'x' on the aerial photograph at the head of this note.

I had visited the arboretum several times since my first sight of it in 1980, and have watched it gradually become overgrown by grasses, thistles and blackberry canes; it is most pleasant to see that some care is now being taken.

Most of the trees are arranged in 'blocks', small groupings by species. Most, but not all, of the blocks are identified by signs which have experienced varying degrees of weathering. Nearly all of the signs are legible, although there are a few that now present a blank and unhelpful face to the visitor. Blocks appear to have been numbered in order of original planting date, with some deviations from that ordering (a listing of blocks, sorted by block number, is given here).

Block numbers and descriptive texts with planting dates are as read from the signs. Some of the signs had fallen down into the grass, and I suspect that I might have missed a few of them. As noted [illegible] or [bullet hole], parts of the signs are unreadable due to weathering or vandalism.

On my visit in July of 2009, the grass and fallen twigs were very dry. I urge you to not smoke whilst onsite, and to not light campfires. The site is posted against camping and fires; it would seem to be basic manners to obey that restriction.

Now, to a virtual tour of the arboretum:

I visited the arboretum by walking clockwise around the arboretum from the left side of its entrance gate, behind the cedar-roofed sign. Blocks are listed below in the order that I visited them; I might have missed a few blocks because I could not find their signs, or their trees had been cut down. Some of the trees are marked with blue ribbons, suggesting to me that they are slated to be removed. I trust that the felling of trees is being done for reasons of silvicultural health.

The common names of the trees (for example, 'pin oak') are as given on the signs for each block of trees; underlined hyperlinks from those names lead to various websites (not authored by me) which provide some additional information on each species; some of these sites will open as PDF-format documents, while others are given in HTML-format. I disclaim responsibility and most assuredly do not claim authorship over those external sources of information: please check several sources if you have a need for current botanical or silvicultural data.


[1319/09] Block No.89: Corylus avellana, Filbert hazelnut, southeastern Europe + western Asia, planted 1978

[1321/09] Block No.83: Quercus palustris, pin oak, eastern U.S., planted 1977

[1323/09] Block No.62: Pinus contorta, shore pine, Pacific Coast from Alaska to Oregon

[1325-6/09] Block No.4: Quercus robur, red oak, widespread Europe, Asia + [illegible], planted 1956

[1328/09] Block No.7: Robina psuedoacacia, black locust, central + eastern USA, planted 1956

[1330/09] Block No.6: Pinus jeffreyi, Jeffrey's pine, southwestern USA, planted 1959

[1332-4/09] Block No.11: Pinus pinaster, maritime pine, Mediterranean France, Portugal, Algeria, planted 1956

[1336/09] Block No.12: Acer negundo, Manitoba maple, eastern North America from Ontario + New England to Texas + Florida, planted 1962

[1338-9/09] Block No.17: Catalpa speciosa, northern catalpa, limited range eastern U.S., planted 1962

[1341-3/09] Block No.16: Chamaecyparis lawsonia, Lawson cedar, southwest Oregon, northwest California, planted 1956

[1345/09] Block No.22: Betula papyifera, paper birch, throughout most of Canada, Alaska, Northwest Territories, Yukon, northern U.S.A., planted 1976.

Betula papyrifera has a distinctively near-white bark which peels readily into thin sheets; the bark does not regenerate when peeled, and peeling should therefore only be performed on dead and downed trees. Its twigs are smooth, and its leaves are small (4 to 10 cm), coarsely-toothed, with sharp terminal points. B. papyrifera is bisexual, bearing both male and female flowers on the same tree. Its nuts are winged and very small. 

Wood of the paper birch is heavy and strong, easy to split, and much valued for firewood. Birch bark may be used for making baskets, as well as for the skin of lightweight wooden canoes.

[1347-9/09] Block No.28: Sequoia gigantia, giant redwood, California - western slopes of Sierra Nevada, planted 1966 and 1970

[1352-4/09] Block No.29: Sequoia sempervirens, California redwood, coast of southern Oregon to southern California, planted 1966

[1356/09] Block No.35A: Almus pumela [sic: should be Ulmus pumila ?], Siberian elm, northern, central Asia, planted 1972

[1358/09] Block No.33: Pinus sylvestris, Scots pine, throughout [illegible: bullet hole in sign] + north Asia, planted 1972

[1360/09] Block No.40C: Viburnum opulus, high-bush cranberry, interior British Columbia with scattered rare sightings throughout the province, planted 1973

[1362-4/09] Block No.41B: Populus trichocarpa, black cottonwood (cuttings from Plus tree no.1 1974), Pacific Northwest from Alaska to California, found throughout BC, planted 1974

[1366/09] Block No.58: Betula japonica, Japanese birch, northeast Asia + Japan, planted 1973

[1368/09] Block No.57: Pinus contorta var. contorta, shore pine, Pacific Coast from Alaska to Oregon, planted 1963

[1370-2/09] Block No.115: Cedrus libani, cedar of Lebanon, Lebanon, planted 1977

[1374-6/09] Block No.71: Pinus muricata, Bishop pine, coastal California, planted 1975

[1378-80/09] Block No.67A: Pinus rigida, pitch pine, eastern North America, planted 1977

[1382-4/09] Block No.67: Pinus parvifolia, Japanese whitepine, Japan, planted 1977

[1386-7/09] Block No.70: Pinus strobus, eastern white pine, southeastern Canada + northeastern U.S., planted 1977

[1389/09] Block No. [illegible: 166A?]: Larix sibirica, Siberian larch, northeast Russia + western Siberia, planted 1977

[1392/09] Block No.69: Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine, mountain regions, southern British Columbia to Mexico, planted 1977

[1394-5/09] Block No.65: Libocedrus decurrans, incense cedar, Oregon to lower California at higher altitudes, planted 1977

[1397/09] Block No.68: Abies magnifica, California red fir, Oregon + California, planted 1977

[1399/09] Block No. [illegible]: Picea glehnii, Glehn's spruce, planted 1976

[1401-3/09] Block No.60: Chamaecyparis obtusa, Hinoki cypress, south + central Japan, planted 1973

[1405-09] Block No.61: Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese cedar, Japan, planted 1973. Here we see its distinctively shaggy bark, which perhaps best accounts for its English common name being 'cedar'.

[1407-09] The delightful sprays of needles, arranged in soft fronds.



[1410-1/09] Block No.56: Pinus contorta var. latifolia, lodgepole pine, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast from Alaska to Mexico, planted 1970

[1413/09] Block No.54: Picea abies, Norway spruce, Europe, planted 1966

[1415-7/09] Block No.48: Thuja plicata, western red cedar, western North America, planted 1966

[1419-20/09] Block No.36A: Tsuga canadensis, eastern hemlock, east of Rockies in Canada, from Nova Scotia + New Brunswick west to Ontario + east Minnesota, south to Delaware, south Michigan

[1422/09] Block No.42A: Tsuga mertensiania, mountain hemlock, high elevations of western North America, planted 1974

[1424/09] Block No.42: Tsuga heterophylla, western hemlock, west coast of North America, extending from southwest Alaska to northern California, planted 1966-1973

[1426/09] Block No.36: Picea amorika, Serbian spruce, Yugoslavia, planted 1962

[1428-9/09] Block No.44: Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, yellow cedar, western [illegible], planted 1966.

The yellow-cedar (also known as the Alaska cypress) grows natively at higher elevations on Vancouver Island, so is seldom seen within settled areas. In the Queen Charlotte Islands and northern Coast its range approaches sea-level. The grey-brown shaggy bark is similar to that of the western red-cedar, but somewhat duller in colour. The needles of the yellow-cedar have a distinctive smell resembling that of fresh-cut potatos. These trees can live to immense ages, at least 1200 years. The sapwood of yellow-cedar is resistant to rot, but the heartwood of old trees tends to rot out; this central rot may account for the common logging practice of cutting these trees but then leaving them untaken, lying on the forest floor.

Yellow-cedar is exquisitely adapted to the winter-wet, snow-laden mountains of the Coast. Its branches and leaves droop downward, readily shedding the thick, heavy snowfalls. The tree has a distinctly narrower sillhouette than the red-cedar; this further assists it in bearing up under the weight of snow.

Had I to choose one favourite tree from the arboretum, it would doubtless be the yellow-cedar.

[1431-2/09] Block No.50: Abies amabilis, Pacific silver fir, northwestern North America, planted 1973.

These trees, regrettably, do not seem to be doing very well in the dry conditions of the arboretum. Their tops do show some green branches, however, so there is still some hope for them.

Their trunks carry pitch-filled blisters, which feature likely accounts for their local colloquial name of 'balsam'.

[1434/09] Block No.51: Pinus banksiana, jack pine, Arctic circle to northern U.S.A., planted 1970.

The scruffy appearance of these trees is typical of their growth habit. They prefer an acid soil, and they do well in bogs and other restricted-nutrient settings, although under severe restriction their growth is stunted.

[1436/09] Block No.45B: Betula lenta,  sweet birch, southeastern Canada and U.S.A., planted 1976

[1438/09] Block No.37: Larix eurolepsis, Dunkeld larch (hybrid X), planted 1962

[1440/09] Block No.30: Picea glauca, white spruce, throughout Canada + northern U.S.A., planted 1956

[1442-4/09] Block No.24A: Picea engelmanni, Engelmann spruce, western North America, planted 1962

[1446/09] Block No.24B: Abies lasiocarpa, subalpine fir, high elevations, western North America, planted 1974

[1448-50/09] Block No.25: Pinus resinosa, red pine, Great Lakes region of Canada, southwestern Manitoba and Minnesota east to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia + New Jersey, planted 1956

[1453/09] Block No.19B, Cornus alba, Siberian dogwood, Siberia to Manchuria and North Korea, planted 1976

[1455/09] Block No.19, Pinus murrayana x banksiana, pine hybrid, planted 1956

[1457/09] Block No.14, Pinus taeda x rigida, loblolly - pitch pine cross (hybrid), Placerville, California, planted 1956

[1459-60/09] Block No.15, Pinus ponderosa, yellow pine / ponderosa pine, interior mountains of western North America, planted 1956.

Pinus ponderosa is one of the most drought-tolerant of the Canadian conifers, growing along the margins of the interior desert of southern British Columbia, aided in its survival by deep taproots. In wetter sites it forms extensive groves, and in dryer sites it grows as isolated individuals surrounded by sagebrush and bunchgrass. The butts and taproots of mature ponderosas are filled with pitch, rendering them valuable for production of firewood, fenceposts and rosin. Bark of mature trees is orange and distinctively platy.

Needles of the ponderosa pine are long (12 to 20 cm), and bundled in threes; its cones are ovoid and prickly, with the prickles extending directly out of the cones' scales, in distinction from the down-bending prickles of P. jeffreyi cones.

[1462/09] Block No.5, Pinus pinaster, maritime pine, Mediterranean France, Portugal + [illegible], planted 1956

[1464-5/09] Block No.9, Pinus nigra var. calabrica, Corsican pine, Spain, Corsica south, Italy, Greece, 1956

[1469/09] Block No. [illegible] Thuja plicata, western red cedar, eastern [sic?] North America, natural

About the photographs

All photographs found herein were taken by Elane Imgoven in July of 2009 using the Sony DSC-W200 Lady Camera, set for wide-angle viewing; I have down-rezzed the photos for this website, as the originals were sized around 3.3 megabyyes. Bracketed frame numbers [xxxx/09] refer back to my personal image collection.  In keeping with the Creative Commons licencing mechanism, I assert my moral right to be identified as the producer of all tree-images given here, and am perfectly willing for their non-commercial use by others provided that proper attribution is given, including a link-back to this journal entry.

I would be very pleased to receive additional information concerning the history and contents of the arboretum.
Cordially,

Elane Imgoven