Trebah Garden, near Falmouth, recently welcomed three generations of the Weatherhead family to mark a very special occasion; the 100th birthday of Sylvia Weatherhead, whose son, granddaughter and great granddaughters were among those in attendance. 

To celebrate the milestone birthday, a majestic coastal redwood, or Sequoia sempervirens, which is thought to be around 150 years old, was fittingly chosen to be dedicated to Sylvia’s centenary. During the family’s visit, the girth of the tree was measured and found to be just over 7 metres in circumference.

Trebah’s Head Gardener Darren Dickey, who facilitated the tree adoption, says “We are delighted to celebrate Sylvia’s milestone with the Weatherhead family and are very grateful for their support over many years.”

“The redwood they’ve chosen is one of the most spectacular giants of the garden, and it feels especially fitting that a tree of such age will now be linked with Sylvia’s own remarkable century.”

Sylvia and her late husband Tom first settled in Mawnan Smith in 1982 and quickly developed a deep love of Trebah. Taking inspiration for their own garden, they planted it with camellias, magnolias, azaleas and hydrangeas, which Sylvia continues to enjoy to this day.

As regular visitors to the garden, they became life members and shared the garden with friends and family over many years.

Their connection continued through the decades; Sylvia adopted a bench near the Koi Pool in memory of Tom after his passing in 1997, and later adopted a tree in 2016 in honour of their daughter Sheila.

In a recent interview with Sylvia, she shared that her favourite spot in the garden is sitting on the wall at the top lawn, looking out through the valley garden down to the sea, whilst her favourite flower is the camellia, of which Trebah has many varieties.

Although unable to visit the garden anymore, Sylvia is very excited about the adoption of the sequoia and has already started referring to it as her tree.