Carpeting the ground beneath Picea orientalis are the remains of cones that have been stripped of seed by the Gardens grey squirrel population. They have systematically worked their way up the tree foraging for all available cones. Standing beneath is like watching snow falling so fast and thorough is the stripping of the cone.
The grey squirrel is a native of North America, the Picea from SW Asia, both growing here in Europe.
Picea orientalis
Picea orientalis
Picea orientalis