Holowach Tree
Edmonton’s oldest chestnut tree is stuffed into a tiny parklet in a downtown alley with a small sign and fence around it. As with many neat things in this city, you have to go looking for them, and they just might be located next to a dumpster! The 100 year old horse chestnut tree was formerly part of the backyard of Walter Holowach, a violinist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. He came from Vienna in 1920 with the horse chestnut seed in his violin case. When the house was torn down in the 1990s, the tree was preserved. Horse chestnut trees, which, if you're nerdy about gardening, means they are only borderline hardy in Edmonton. The downtown location actually protects the tree from our significant winters, and it's thought that the surrounding buildings probably create a microclimate. The city only counts 34 of this type of tree in the entire city.
Edmonton’s oldest chestnut tree is stuffed into a tiny parklet in a downtown alley with a small sign and fence around it. As with many neat things in this city, you have to go looking for them, and they just might be located next to a dumpster! The 100 year old horse chestnut tree was formerly part of the backyard of Walter Holowach, a violinist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. He came from Vienna in 1920 with the horse chestnut seed in his violin case. When the house was torn down in the 1990s, the tree was preserved. Horse chestnut trees, which, if you're nerdy about gardening, means they are only borderline hardy in Edmonton. The downtown location actually protects the tree from our significant winters, and it's thought that the surrounding buildings probably create a microclimate. The city only counts 34 of this type of tree in the entire city.