|
02 Jul 10 - 06:59 PM (#2938817) Subject: !00 Million Trees - Facebook Project From: Lizzie Cornish 1 OK! This is SO exciting!! Michael, who runs 'Kaiteur' in Sidmouth, an environmental shop, has come up with this wonderful idea! He's going to give 10 trees to 10 friends to plant, on the promise that they each do exactly the same... In no time at all, he's hoping to have got thousands, hundreds of thousands, MILLIONS of trees being planted right around the planet... And as the methane is bubbling away in the Gulf of Mexico at never recorded before levels, we need to get back to taking care of Mother Earth..... Anyway, if you'd like to join a very worthy cause, and take up this idea for yourself, here's the Facebook page he's organised... The 100 Million Trees Facebook Project |
|
02 Jul 10 - 07:07 PM (#2938821) Subject: RE: Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) Heh, I like this! |
|
02 Jul 10 - 07:24 PM (#2938831) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: katlaughing Neat idea, but out here trees are expensive and I cannot think of ten nearby friends to gift. Still, I like the idea and will see about planting a couple of new ones on our place. We have scads of seedlings coming up, but they are of trees which are not indigenous/or ones that require too much water in this climate. Good luck. |
|
02 Jul 10 - 09:44 PM (#2938907) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Rapparee There are plenty of trees around me, on the golf course and so on. What we're doing is planting native grasses and plants -- they're adapted to this environment and don't require as much water. |
|
02 Jul 10 - 09:53 PM (#2938911) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Ebbie Coals to Newcastle comes to mind. Juneau is in the middle of the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the country and at 17 million acres the "Largest intact coastal temperate rainforest in the world" so planting 10 or 100 trees would be the proverbial drop in a bucket. However, I'm glad to think that with this forest, we are doing our part to clean the air. Hmmmm. Maybe that is why our air is so clear and sweet. Good idea, though. |
|
03 Jul 10 - 07:44 AM (#2939072) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Lizzie Cornish Michael's sending me a tree...can't WAIT to plant it. I planted two very recently anyway, but this is a wonderful idea and the figures can rise incredibly fast if everyone sticks to the plan. This is NOT an advert for Michael's shop, because hey, get the trees wherever you want to, but he *does* sell saplings which can be posted out. I noticed that on his page. Nearly all of them are around £3.95 each. I'm going to give my son a tree for his birthday, coming up soon..and I'll let him choose it, plant it and look after it. I've sent a message to all my Myspace friends too, with a link to the site. I just really hope the idea takes off. I've also written to Help4Heroes, to see if they'd consider a campaign for planting trees for every lost and injured soldier. I'm sure the families of those soldiers would like to get on board...and today I'm going to write to the American equivalent of Help4Heroes too... If you don't try, you won't get anywhere.. :0) |
|
03 Jul 10 - 07:54 AM (#2939073) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B Could I please put in a plug for the Woodland Trust whose vision is 'to see a country rich in native woods' "Over the past 30 years the Woodland Trust has been working hard to create new native woodland throughout the UK for the benefit of both people and wildlife through the simple act of planting a tree. Every Tree we plant costs us £15 to nurture that tree to maturity. Please donate today and plant a tree at one of our 4 beautiful sites around the UK" Additionally, their 'Tree For All' campaign is aimed at children and young people to 'inspire our children with a fresh love of nature and a determination to act on its behalf.' Heartwood Forest - a Woodland Trust wood |
|
03 Jul 10 - 08:01 AM (#2939074) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Midchuck View off our back porch...as of about 5 years ago. More trees now, and bigger. If we plant more, we won't be able to get through them... Peter |
|
03 Jul 10 - 08:19 AM (#2939079) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B The Woodland Trust also provide a 'Gift from the Heart' scheme to celebrate a life or a special event in a wood of your choice "To retain the natural beauty of our woods, individual trees are not marked in any way, but your personalised dedication certificate will ensure that your thoughts and intentions will live on with your tree for generations to come." |
|
03 Jul 10 - 10:19 AM (#2939116) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Catherine Jayne We have a tree for each of the children and all are native to the woodland we own. 2 oaks and a hazel. We collected them as saplings from Ravenswood and have nurtured them since. When they are big enough they will go back to Ravenswood. I like the idea of planting trees for special events and we are going to plant on there to celebrate our marriage later in the year. |
|
03 Jul 10 - 10:37 AM (#2939123) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B Some tree fun for children of all ages Download a leaf mask |
|
03 Jul 10 - 11:55 AM (#2939153) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B On a more serious note for anyone unaware The National Memorial Arboretum situated in Alrewas, Staffordshire is a charity run by staff and volunteers and is part of The Royal British Legion family as a lasting living memorial to - those who have given their lives in the service of their country, including police, emergency and fire services and civilian organizations etc as well as the armed forces all who have served and those who have suffered as a result of conflict and others who for specific or appropriate reasons are commemorated on the site - e.g. St Johns Ambulance etc and there is an area dedicated to the young victims of road accidnts The Arboretum 'consists of 150 acres of wooded parkland within the National Forest in Staffordshire where visitors can both enjoy and learn about the trees and their surroundings, and reflect upon their special symbolism.' 'Although still a 'young' arboretum, there are already in excess of 50,000 trees on the site which are rapidly growing into a unique living tribute.' 'At the end of the 'Beat' (an avenue of young chestnuts, funded by every Police Force in the UK, as Chestnuts were were originally made from their wood) can be found the Golden Grove which celebrates the lives of couples who married at the end of the Second World War and commemorated their 50th anniversary by dedicating trees. All the trees in the Grove have either golden leaves, stems or fruits such as the golden stemmed ash.' Exotic Eucalyptus is planted to acknowledge the vital role played by Australian airmen based in UK during World War II; the Indian Army and Royal Indian Navy plots have trees native to the Himalayas and Southern Asia, such as Himalayan birch, Kashmir rowan and Bhutan pine. Also included is the Shot at Dawn memorial 'Over 300 British and Commonwealth soldiers were shot for desertion or cowardice during the First World War. Most of them were sentenced after a short trial at which no real opportunity for defence was allowed. Today, it is recognised that several of them were under age when they volunteered and that many of them were suffering from shell shock or post traumatic stress disorder. Andy Decomyn's statue 'Shot at Dawn' is modelled on Private Herbert Burden, of the 1st Battallion Northumberland Fusiliers, who was shot at Ypres in 1915 aged 17. His name, and the names of those others who suffered the fate of being shot at dawn are listed on the stakes arranged in the form of a Greek theatre around the statue, symbolising the tragedy that these events signify. The location of this memorial in the most easterly point of the Arboretum which means that it is the first place to be touched by the dawn light.' |
|
03 Jul 10 - 12:02 PM (#2939159) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B ooops! should read 'as police truncheons were originally made from chestnut wood!' |
|
04 Jul 10 - 05:22 AM (#2939501) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: JHW The Man Who Planted Trees |
|
04 Jul 10 - 07:14 AM (#2939516) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod Such stupidity, arrogance and ignorance continues to appall me! F**king trees have been planting themselves for squillions of years without the help of green-tinged do-gooders!!! Cordon off any piece of land in Britain and it will revert to woodland. This process is called 'natural succession' and needs no human intervention (except, these days, the initial cordoning off). Where I live there are plantations from the 1970s and 1980s next to woodland that has re-generated naturally. The natural woodland is strong, vigorous and healthy whereas the spindly trees in the plantations blow down in the slightest breeze, because they have weakened root systems. Nevertheless, the local authorities have chopped down the naturally re-generated trees - and plan to chop down more. They then promise to plant more trees to replace those that they have already, or plan to, chop down! When I mentioned this to one of the culprits he said, "oh, they're just self-seeded" - a very revealing remark! Plantations are usually very poor in biodiversity terms and very often replace and destroy much more biodiverse (and increasingly rare) native grassland. In addition a plantation is not, in any way, equivalent to the complex eco-system which is an ancient wood. The former bears about as much relation to the latter as a coat of whitewash does to a fresco by Michaelangelo. In my opinion people who think that planting trees (or, God help us, 'wild flowers') is a 'good thing' are part of the problem. Evil, greedy, f**king developers promise to plant trees to 'mitigate' for their depredations ("We're going to plant some trees" is shorthand for, "we don't give a f**k!"). If you really want to increase biodiversity, venture out of your armchair and go out and really look at the world around you, and learn to identify the other living things that we share it with. Only if we really know what is in our local environment, and how it is changing over time, can we have any hope of conserving those things which make it unique. |
|
04 Jul 10 - 08:05 AM (#2939532) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B Shimrod I share your views about plantaions It is estimated that over the last 50 years nearly half of the UK's ancient, semi-natural woodland has been cleared or converted to commercial plantations. WHY? Some historical explanations are provided in "The UK Experience" a lecture given by Tim Rollinson, Director General, Forestry Commission at the University of British Columbia Annual Forestry Lecture 2010 "At the beginning of the 20th century, our forest cover was at an all time low - just 5% of the land area. So our forest history has been one of thousands of years of deforestation. Not only did we lose our forests, we also lost our forest culture. The deforestation had been so prolonged and gradual that we had rather grown used to landscapes without trees. We also lost our forestry skills. We were without adequate knowledge and lacking relevant science. We had virtually to start from scratch. And that is what we did. Following the First World War, national concern about the lack of timber available to help us fight any future conflict led to the establishment of the Forestry Commission – in 1919. The Commissioners had a single, and simple, objective – to create a strategic reserve of timber. They were provided with funds, manpower and political backing to restore the country's forest resources. The early priorities were simple. The nation needed timber and the new forests were created to meet the needs of society at the time. The post-war emphasis was on production. The aim was to establish fast-growing plantations of trees to provide us with timber should we face another war. This mirrored what was happening in agriculture, where policy also focussed on production, to increase yields to feed a nation recovering from the war effort. Agricultural policy safeguarded the best land for food production, so only the most marginal land was available for the new forests. Plantation forestry was seen as the way forward - as the only means of quickly and efficiently establishing new forests. Many of these new plantations were established on upland grazing areas which had lost their tree cover, often centuries before. The range of tree species that could be grown on this marginal land was heavily restricted - with an emphasis on fast growing conifers in the uplands and Scots and Corsican pine in the lowlands. Some of the new plantations were established on the sites of original native woodlands and, believe it or not, some of these were cleared with herbicides to make room for the productive new plantations THE EXPANSION CONTINUED IN THE 1970S AND 1980S FUELLED BY TAX RELIEF TO HIGH INCOME EARNERS TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO INVEST IN FORESTRY. THE MEDIA WAS FULL OF TAX AVOIDANCE STORIES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS AT THE TIME. THIS LED TO INCREASING CONFLICT, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN FORESTRY AND NATURE CONSERVATION INTERESTS. THIS CONFLICT REACHED ITS PEAK AT THE END OF THE 1980S WHEN FOREST EXPANSION MOVED TO SOME OF THE REMOTEST PARTS OF BRITAIN" Organizations like Tree Appeal and the Woodland Trust, mentioned earlier, recognize and promote the need for biodiversity and only plant native broad leaf trees such as oak, beech and ash; the species which are known to best promote biodiversity. As long as this is done correctly and at the right time of year, the saplings will grow well with very little maintenance. By creating biodiverse inclusive woodland I hope a new generation will grow up learning 'to identify the other living things that we share it with' more from the lecture |
|
04 Jul 10 - 10:47 AM (#2939584) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B While agreeing with you about the plantations Shimrod I must take issue with your comment about 'green-tinged do-gooders' It is the enthusiasts/conservationists and scientists in organizations like The Woodland Trust who are concerned about retaining the 2% or so of the UK's 'ancient woodland' (defined as being mapped as woodland over 400 years ago but in probability much older) Some of the purchase of previously cleared land to replant with native trees is to act as a buffer to remnants of previously ancient woodland and the aim is to also to acquire and preserve others under threat Neither are they unaware of "what is in our local environment, and how it is changing over time" 'Co-author Richard Smithers of the Woodland Trust said, "Phenology is 'the canary in the cage'. The results of this new study** make real our changing climate and its potential to have profound consequences for the complex web of life." The research shows that there are large differences between species in the rate at which seasonal events have shifted. Changes have been most rapid for many organisms at the bottom of food chains, such as plants and the animals that feed upon them. Predators have shown slower overall changes in the seasonal timing of their life cycle events.' Thanks for that description Guest Date: 04 Jul 10 - 08:49 AM - unfortunately for most of us in the UK land space only permits the planting of a tree or two in a small garden. The provision of woodland, open and free to visit, is so important in this crowded country Biodiversity at Grass Wood in the River Wharfe valley **The collaborative study, involving scientists from 12 UK research institutions, universities and conservation organisations, including the Woodland Trust, is the most comprehensive and rigorous assessment so far of long-term changes in the seasonal timing (phenology) of biological events across marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments in the UK The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and carried out by staff from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Woodland Trust, Butterfly Conservation, University of Cambridge, Rothamsted Research, Marine Scotland, Royal Holloway University of London, Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Sciences, Freshwater Biological Association, People's Trust for Endangered Species, British Trust for Ornithology, and the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit University of Worcester |
|
04 Jul 10 - 11:06 AM (#2939592) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) Yes, I noticed :) I used to be a member of The Woodland Trust, maybe I aught to sign up again.. And Plantlife too. Guess I'm a bit green-tinged. PS anyone want a Yew sapling.. Can't very well leave it to grow to full size in my backgarden, there's quite enough trees in there already. Keep thinking about pressing it onto one of the local church yards. |
|
04 Jul 10 - 11:42 AM (#2939604) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Stilly River Sage Though his manner was rather brusk and offputting to nascent green tree-planters, Guest, Shimrod has a point. I kill off hundred of "trees" every year as I trim and chop the hackberry (in the elm family, separate branch from oaks) from out of my fence line. I pull pecans and red oaks the squirrels have planted every year. Were I to let all of these trees grow I'd have quite a thatch here. I have planted some good quality xeriscape (low water) native trees on the property, and there are a number of the self-planted ones that are left alone along the back fence next to the creek. Planting very small trees is a better choice because there has been less time for the roots to get bound in the pot. Be sure to plant those trees at the right level - not too deep in the ground. Trees have a root swell that is supposed to show, not be covered with dirt, so if you plant one of these seedlings or saplings then makes sure the hole is wide, not deep, and don't add extra stuff. The broken up native soil gives the tree a chance to spread roots and get accustomed to the native soil. If you use amendments for general fertilization, sprinkle them around and water them in (I use information from the www.DirtDoctor.com which covers the U.S. pretty thoroughly). If you don't have access to organic materials, make your own compost and when it's ready scatter a thin layer of it under the tree a couple of times a year. Foliar feeding of a good liquid organic fertilizer, in a sprayer and sprayed on the tree early in the morning when the leaves have the stoma open, will go a great way to keeping it happy. I know, too much information for some of you. And not enough for others. The main thing about trees, relatively new research-wise, don't plant them too deep. It slows them down, almost smothers them, depending on how bad the case is. SRS |
|
04 Jul 10 - 12:02 PM (#2939611) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B It is probably safe to say that within the UK no single woodland has remained uninfluenced by human activities as long as humans have been around Woodlands were always of great economic importance and no management was ever really an option. In pasture-type woodland, sheep and cattle would also be grazed; pigs would be turned out to eat acorns and beech mast in the autumn. It can be argued that some of the oldest trees and species which inhabit Britain's woods are there, in many cases, not so much as despite of but because of past activities such as coppicing This had the side effect of continually creating new glades in woodlands to replace those which had grown over with time. In turn this encouraged wildflowers, grasses and brambles to progressively colonize each new glade as the tree canopy was opened up. The animal species associated with these plants would also then follow. "Removal of all human activity within a woodland will usually result in the development of dark, dense woods. This will favour a relatively small number of species which prefer this type of habitat. However, it will also result in the elimination of all those species which either require higher light levels, or which are dependent on other species with this requirement. If high biodiversity and a wide range of woodland species is the goal, then management will be necessary to create structural diversity within the woodland." - An Introduction to the Management of Small Native British Woodlands |
|
04 Jul 10 - 12:06 PM (#2939612) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod "anyone want a Yew sapling" A neighbour of mine, knowing that I was interested in all things green, e-mailed me the other day and said, "do you want some Holly seedlings that the birds have 'planted' in my back garden?" As I'm the chair of a local conservation group she thought that we might want to plant the seedlings "over the Meadows". "The Meadows" is one of our local green spaces. Once it was comprised of species-rich flood meadows - but is now a rather dull plantation of 'native trees' (must be good, then!) with small patches of grassland increasingly overrun with scrub. When I next bumped into this person, in the street, I explained that if you rooted about in the shade of the dull plantation there were thousands of Holly seedlings already. I theorised that Holly was probably once more common locally but for generations local farmers had fed it to sheep, and other livestock, in winter (In spite of Holly's prickliness, livestock will eat it and Oliver Rackham has called it, "iron rations for sheep"). It is relatively slow growing and may be only now beginning to make a comeback after hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years of cutting. I suggested to this lady that in 100 years our whole area could be one vast 'Holly wood'. She looked at me with a look of blank incomprehension - as though I was completely mad and had spoken to her in ancient Aramaic - much the same look as you've probably got on your face now, if you've bothered to read this far! Oh yes, CS for approx. every 10 Holly seedlings there is a Yew seedling. I still insist that my local environment is endlessly fascinating and complex - and I'm sure yours is too. My environment needs to be CONSERVED. My dictionary defines the word 'conserve' as to "keep from harm or loss" it says absolutely nothing about arbitrarily adding new things. I continue to believe that tree planting is not necessary and usually does more harm than good! Oliver Rackham (him again!) says that: "Tree planting is not synonymous with conservation; it is a sign that conservation has failed". Before you start getting all enthusiastic about tree planting try reading Rackham's book, 'Woodlands' (2006) - which is Vol. 100 in the Collins New Naturalist series. |
|
04 Jul 10 - 12:10 PM (#2939615) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B "it is a sign that conservation has failed" It has! |
|
04 Jul 10 - 12:18 PM (#2939619) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B Don't it always seem to go. That you don't know what you've got. Till it's gone .....but it's not too late....... |
|
04 Jul 10 - 12:54 PM (#2939636) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Stilly River Sage I've just sent in an interlibrary loan request for the Rackham book. Thanks for the suggestion! SRS |
|
04 Jul 10 - 01:11 PM (#2939644) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B Shimrod, I think we both share the desire to conserve what is left of our ancient woodland but 'conservation' throughout the 20thC has consisted of the destruction of many sites in the interests of housing and road building (and those commercial plantations) e.g.one such application at random The Secretary of State notes that the application site is allocated for a development of 200 houses in the adopted Local Plan. Although the current proposals are some 10% in excess of this, the Secretary of State accepts that the increase would accord with Government policy concerning the efficient use of land. He agrees with the Inspector (IR 14.20) that the proposals are significant in terms of the implementation of other policies and objectives of the adopted Local Plan. So far as compliance with national policy is concerned, the Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector's conclusions regarding compliance with PPGs 9 and 15. HE RECOGNISES THAT THERE WILL BE SOME ADVERSE EFFECTS, BOTH IN RELATION TO THE ANCIENT WOODLAND AND AS REGARDS THE SETTING OF THE LISTED BUILDINGS, BUT HE SHARES THE INSPECTOR'S VIEW (IR 14.15-14.18) THAT THE HARM WOULD BE OUTWEIGHED BY THE BENEFITS TO THE PUBLIC INTEREST RESULTING FROM THE DEVELOPMENT' (my caps) This is NOT either keeping 'from harm or loss' and has been repeated many times all over the country So long as 'replacenemt' planting for the future is carried out with care and concern for the existing environment I personally believe it is necessary to preserve what we still have left but also to give our childrens children a legacy that is more than just a parking lot. |
|
04 Jul 10 - 01:43 PM (#2939659) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) Shimrod, I wasn't actually asking if anyone wants a yew sapling. Err, that was kinda tongue in cheek. Otherwise, there are a lot of urban spaces I see around me - including council estates - where a few trees might possibly be a nice idea.. A couple of apple trees might even be nice on the village green (though it would put out the people who like to use it as a car park). But I'm not about to go about creating vast plantations of conifers (I think that's the 'forestry commission's speciality) on local heathland where some rare species of wild orchid is being preciously preserved, so there's really no need to fret! |
|
04 Jul 10 - 01:46 PM (#2939661) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) "It can be argued that some of the oldest trees and species which inhabit Britain's woods are there, in many cases, not so much as despite of but because of past activities such as coppicing" Indeed. I don't know about anyone else, but most of the woodland I've visited in my life, has (and indeed still is) quite obviously been managed by people in some fashion over the years for particular purposes. |
|
04 Jul 10 - 02:09 PM (#2939675) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod But, 'Emma B', as I noted above, planted trees are NOT (my caps) a replacement for ancient woodland. To repeat what I said before a plantation of trees (yes, even native ones) bears about as much relation to an ancient wood as a coat of whitewash does to a Michaelangelo frescoe. An ancient wood is a complex eco-sysytem - not just a collection of trees - and has evolved over a long period of time. Basically, you can't replace it - once it's gone it's gone - at least for the forseeable future. Near to my home town there is a site which was clear-felled around 60 or 70 years ago (around the time of the 2nd World War) - but there was enough of the eco-system left (fungi, insects etc.) for the ancient wood to re-establish itself when the trees re-grew from their stumps and through natural succession. Note that in many ancient woods, in the UK, many trees were 'coppiced', i.e. cut down to ground level every 7 to 10 years, whilst a few others were left as clean, straight trunks to provide future building timbers etc. The coppiced trees regrew as a collection of poles, rather than as single trunks. The poles were used for tool handles, fences etc. This appears to have been going on for thousands of years because prehistoric trackways in wetlands, like the Fens or the Somerset Levels, appear to have been made from coppice poles. Usually ancient woods weren't clear-felled, like the one above, but divided into compartments which were coppiced in rotation. In spite of all the losses organisations like the National Trust and the Woodland Trust have saved a lot of ancient woods in the last few decades (and some are even being coppiced). Nevertheless, there are habitats which are even more endangered than ancient woodland - and these include wetlands and unimproved grassland. In fact, George Peterken, probably Britain's greatest woodland ecologist, has said that the priority now is grassland - not woodland. SRS - I hope that you enjoy the Rackham book. Be warned though; although he's a serious academic, once you have read any of his books it is likely that you will never see the world around you in the same way again. |
|
04 Jul 10 - 06:54 PM (#2939806) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Cuilionn Sorry-- deleted Guest post, above, was me. Not sure why I lost my biscuit. here it is (reposted by Joe Offer) I applaud the idea of friend-to-friend tree planting, tempered by thoughtful selection and siting. Whenever I'm in a group that's trying to decide how to honour someone or celebrate a birthday or anniversary, I usually suggest the gift of a tree or a gift certificate to a plant nursery. People are often surprised by the suggestion, but I've yet to see a recipient that didn't relish such a gift! We live on 45 acres in the state of Maine. Over 30 acres are forested and we tend that woodland carefully to maintain biodiversity, remove invasive plant species, and reduce fire danger while preserving a decent balance of upright "snags" and wind-felled branches to maintain the health of soil, flora and fauna. Our land was farmed by previous generations-- farmed extensively, but not sustainably. Hillsides eroded and good land was depleted or otherwise lost. We plant trees each year--judiciously, with carefully-chosen varieties--to stabilize slopes, restore biodiversity and habitat, and provide future food and lumber for our own use. We also inoculate our tree-planting sites with beneficial fungi and other soil micro-organisms to help the plants thrive. It's challenging, but really a great deal of fun, to peruse our local nursery catalogs and choose each year's tree varieties. Last year we planted an American Linden to attract and provide food for honeybees. We planted several elders, a few heirloom plums and cold-hardy heirloom apple varieties as well. It is wonderful to look out at those small saplings and imagine them a decade or two from now, well-branched out, well-rooted, and productive, full partners in our efforts to restore the health of the land. |
|
05 Jul 10 - 03:56 AM (#2939945) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod Thinking about trees in cities here's an experiment that you might like to try: If you happen to live in a largeish city in the UK pick any two points, about two miles apart, and connected by a bus route. Take the bus ride between the two points (preferably on the top deck - if you have double-deckers in your area) and try and count the trees that you can see. I suspect that you'll probably give up after the first quarter of a mile! If nothing else, this experiment might encourage you to really look at the world around you. And if you have convinced yourself that tree planting is a good, and invariably virtuous, activity it might encourage you to think about how many trees we've already got, how many we actually need and whether we really need to plant any more. |
|
05 Jul 10 - 04:06 AM (#2939949) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) Of course cities tend to have avenues of trees (particularly in smarter areas), because of dedicated planting schemes from the past.. Also London has lots of green spaces because the planners were foresighted enough to create them. Less so the case now due to the value of land for housing. |
|
05 Jul 10 - 07:32 AM (#2940008) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Lizzie Cornish Good Lordy! There's always one, isn't there!!! What do you want? Do you want people to just not give a shit then? Do you want trees cut down all over and never to be replanted because they're not the origianl species???? This is like The Traddies taking over the Woods! "No, we can't plant that 'cos it wasn't put there by Cecil Sharp and there isn't a REAL tree!" I mean?????? Did you not watch the wonderful BBC programme raising money for the BBC Wildlife Fund, where Chris Packham went to find the sadly depleted, but beautiful, Scarlet Macaws? They are now ensuring that all of them are protected, and thus that includes their habitat. It showed you the Corporate Logger Bastards with their huge vehicles, ploughing down the trees by the minute, vast, huge, unbelievable areas of rain forest gone, in hours, days.....just GONE. But where the Macaws were they are not allowed to enter...and the forest was rich and lush, as it's always been. If thousands, millions of people take this idea up, then you will also have ALL of those people re-connecting to the Earth, thinking about its future, thinking about THEIR future.... And I'm sorry, but that, in my mind, is one helluva lot better than just getting folks to sit on the Materialistic Arses and do absolutely nothing. We may not be able to recreate the forests of the past, but we can damn well create the forests of the future, even if those 'forests' are scattered around in people back gardens, or on village greens. The trees will still be there, breathing in, breathing out, and helping Mother Nature to repair so much of the terrible damage we have done... |
|
05 Jul 10 - 12:38 PM (#2940138) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B Shimrod, please believe I appreciate your viewpoint and recognize that it is grounded in sound conservation principles I'm not loudly proselytising for the random, and often inappropriate, planting of trees. I'm not naïve enough to appreciate how unsuitable some are when planted in small gardens too close to buildings or infringing upon a neighbours boundaries and/or access to light Neither am I too starry eyed not to recognize that what is gone is gone and our ancient woodland lost to 'progress' cannot simply be 'replaced' by parks and gardens. Where we disagree is that I am in favour of the provision of new native woodland - not because it makes me feel virtuous - but to provide leisure and/or educational activities for future generations, habitats for wildlife and maybe even a source of renewable energy I have seen it stated that 97% of all the wetlands in the Fens have disappeared over last four hundred years. While there are movements to try to find ways to conserve wetlands, even in the face of the changing climate, there are also successful moves to create new wetlands from areas where they've been lost. Is there not room for both approaches? Although much of the grasslands in the UK below the treeline or away from coastal areas are historically the result of human activity created from woodland clearance and drainage of wetlands and maintained by grazing cutting or burning 'unimproved' land - so species rich - has undoubtedly declined in recent years as a result of agricultural intensification, over grazing, the inevitable building development, simple neglect or, some paradoxically, through woodland planting (point taken!) I agree conservation is the next big challenge An article in that well known green tinged tree huggers newspaper the Guardian (just joking) had an article a year ago beginning "Planting forests as carbon sinks is a familiar idea. Less discussed - but potentially even more significant - is the possibility of locking vast quantities of carbon into the soils of the world's dry grasslands. This could be achieved by changing the way we graze cattle ……. Even when the methane and nitrous oxide emissions of the cattle are taken into account, this "regenerative grassland management" holds the potential to significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas in the air." Regenerating Grasslands |
|
05 Jul 10 - 01:33 PM (#2940183) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod "What do you want? Do you want people to just not give a shit then? Do you want trees cut down all over and never to be replanted because they're not the origianl species????" Yes, Lizzie I'm an evil monster and you're a virtuous angel - now go away before I show my evil monster side ... But before you go I suppose that you haven't noticed, from up there on your pure and virtuous silver cloud, that, given a chance, trees plant themselves - and have been doing for gazillions of years without your intervention. Oh yes, and we're somewhat short of Scarlet Macaws up here in Manchester. And if Chris Packham didn't behave like such an annoying idiot on the telly, I might have more respect for him, and pay some attention to what he says! Sorry about that, EmmaB ... now where were we? All I can say is that I've observed the effects of mass tree planting over, at least, a 35 year period - and I'm not convinced that it increases biodiversity - in fact, in certain respects, the complete opposite. May I recommend Oliver Rackham's books to you too (particularly, 'Woodlands')? He really does speak a lot of sense on the subject and quite a bit of what he says is (intriguingly) contrary to popular opinion - but is based on sound science. In the Fens (where I come from originally) there's a new scheme called 'The Great Fen Project'; I haven't got a link to hand but you should be able to Google it. The idea is to re-wet several thousand acres of Fenland - apparently they've attracted Cranes back already! Sounds wonderful - I only wish I had another 100 years (50 would do!). |
|
05 Jul 10 - 01:48 PM (#2940195) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Lizzie Cornish 1 Sighhhhhhhhh! Forests/trees/parks/village greens/whatever/wherever can all grow/regenerate/conservethemselves FAR faster if we're all out there being Busy Bees and helping Mother Nature along. WE are cutting them down FAR FASTER than they're able to push new saplings up through the earth..and you completely missed my point about it putting people BACK in touch with Mother Earth... As for Chris Packham, he's probably done way more than you have to inspire and get folks out there Doing and Caring... AND...Manchester would be far nicer if it had Scarlet Macaws squawking rather than echoing to the squawk of Grumpy Ol' Buggers. Thankooooooo... :0) |
|
05 Jul 10 - 02:00 PM (#2940204) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Bert The Forestry Service used to have very small trees for sale cheaply in the Colorado Springs area. I don't have anywhere to plant trees at the moment. When Lou Died back in '92 I planted four dozen Bristlecone Pines for her. They cost about fifty cents each back then. So check with your local Forestry Service, they may still be selling trees and they know what is best in their area. |
|
05 Jul 10 - 02:02 PM (#2940206) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B I've checked that out Shimrod My online library catalogue shows one copy of a 2010 hardback and 3 of the paperback published in 2006 - are these basically identical content? Look forward to reading this and getting back to you later For anyone interested - Great Fen Poject "one of the most exciting habitat restoration projects ever undertaken in Britain - will create a 3,700 hectare wetland between Huntingdon and Peterborough." |
|
05 Jul 10 - 02:11 PM (#2940211) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod "Forests/trees/parks/village greens/whatever/wherever can all grow/regenerate/conservethemselves FAR faster if we're all out there being Busy Bees and helping Mother Nature along." You mean we're really Mistresses/Masters of the Universe and know better than 'Mother Nature'? Isn't that attitude at the very heart of the problem, Lizzie? And by acting like a silly, patronising git, and talking down to me on the telly, Chris Packham hasn't inspired me, personally, to do anything. I find his painfully forced 'zaniness' very, very trying. I could say the same about Kate 'you-could-probably-have-me-if-you-played-your-cards-right-but-oh-do-shut-up-woman' Humble. By the way, who is this 'Mother Earth'? Is she married to Mr Earth? If I touch her, isn't she likely to sue me for sexual harrassment? |
|
05 Jul 10 - 02:23 PM (#2940216) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B By the way just out of interest I live within walking distance of an old much larger Norman hunting forest which now includes nearly a thousand hectares of mixed deciduous and evergreen woodland. Ownership passed to the Crown in 1812 and then to the Forestry Commission, which has managed the forest, since its establishment in 1919. A Moss was drained in around 1815, supposedly by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars; it was unsuccessfully planted with oak, and later with Scots pine and western hemlock during the 1940s by the Forestry Commission but this proved uneconomic. It was decided in 1992 to restore it as a wetland environment, which was achieved in 1998 by clear-felling the area and then flooding it. I have followed the restoration regularly; the restored mere now provides a habitat for wildlife, particularly birds. Following the success of this project, it was announced in January this year that a further 33 hectares of drained fenland at four sites in the forest area would be rewetted as part of Natural England's "Wetland Vision" scheme |
|
05 Jul 10 - 03:13 PM (#2940242) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod Hi Emma, Now that sounds more like it! I bet it's a wonderful place to explore! I love places like that. My retirement project is to survey and list all of the plants in the Mersey Valley, in South Manchester, where I live. I have a theory that the marginal places on the edges of cities are often richer, and more biodiverse, than most people give them credit for. I want to know what we've got, out of pure scientific curiosity. But I also hope to be able to protect my scruffy little 'Gardens of Eden' from rapacious developers (did you know that all local authorities now have a 'biodiversity duty'?). The usual developers' trick is to hire a 'tame' ecologist and send him/her out in the depths of winter and then he/she testifies that there's nothing worth saving ... but if I've lodged my data with the local Ecology Unit ... (?) Anyway, there's a place by the motorway that the Highways Agency trashed the year before last. I was livid until this year all sorts of old agricultural weeds came up - which probably no-one has seen for generations! The Agency also destroyed a perfectly good stream - but, as part of their 'biodiversity duty' built a pond ... and last Friday I found something called Spiked Water Milfoil in the pond - and I've only got one other site for that (bliss!). I'm sure that they didn't introduce it - it probably came in on ducks' feet. Don't tell Lizzie, but I have actually been out all day 'communing' with 'Mother Nature' - but I like to think that I've been listening to what she has to tell me - rather than bossily and self-righteosly trying to impose my will on her! I think that it's because I approach her with the appropriate level of humility and reverence that she tells me new things every day. |
|
05 Jul 10 - 07:02 PM (#2940360) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B the mere re emerges slowly gradually beautifully My thanks to the folks who posted those photos to the net |
|
06 Jul 10 - 02:22 AM (#2940508) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: open mike i second the recommendation of; "The Man Who Planted Trees" a book by Jean Giono, which has been made into a wonderful animated film in Canada. One of the parts of the story is that Elzéard Bouffier planted an oak forest single-handed, by planting acorns every day. The area where he planted them had historically been a thriving community with water, fish and a village, but had gone dry after the trees were removed. this movie is a good inspiration for what one person can do. |
|
06 Jul 10 - 08:04 AM (#2940587) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) Hey, I don't just have trees in my garden you know. I have grass too. And a pond! Can I please get some praise now Shimrod? |
|
06 Jul 10 - 03:37 PM (#2940805) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod Of course, CS, I think you're a really cool person! I bet your grass and pond are cool too! Don't worry - you know I'm a curmudgeonly, argumentative old git. It's just that I'm completely obsessed by plants and wildlife (yes, as well as trad. song). A couple of hours ago I was fossicking about in one of my favourite local haunts. When I first knew it, about 30 years ago, it was a, more or less, open space. But now it is covered in self-seeded Oak, Ash, Silver Birch, Alder, various Willows, Hawthorn, Rowan, Holly etc., etc. To be honest, it could actually do with a jolly good thinning out to let some light in. Sadly, it will be permanently thinned out when the Metrolink tram system is driven through it as part of a mad scheme to make Manchester Airport the 'Heathrow of the North!' (God help us!). The Metrolink people are promising to plant two trees for every one that they cut down (or is it 5 trees?). They, of course, couldn't give a toss about the environment but think that they have come up with a cheap, simple, glib formula to get them off the 'hook' of their duty to conserve biodiversity. It was things like this which made me begin to suspect that tree planting is not really a solution for anything - but actually a part of the problem. |
|
06 Jul 10 - 06:21 PM (#2940903) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) "I bet your grass and pond are cool too!" You better believe it Shimster! Though actually my grass isn't at all cool and is instead rather scrubby and dry due to the hot heat, likewise my pond is a shade of sludge due to the brilliantly abundant amounts of natural algae proliferating in the hot heat! Yay for bioyeastythings! |
|
07 Jul 10 - 06:09 PM (#2941411) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Lizzie Cornish 1 "You mean we're really Mistresses/Masters of the Universe and know better than 'Mother Nature'? Isn't that attitude at the very heart of the problem, Lizzie?" Nope. I mean we, as a species, have seriously fucked Mother Nature up bigtime and it's our duty to start repairing some of that damage. "And by acting like a silly, patronising git, and talking down to me on the telly, Chris Packham hasn't inspired me, personally, to do anything. I find his painfully forced 'zaniness' very, very trying." Chris Packham has encouraged thousands of youngsters to share his wild enthusiasm for wild things. He's not your 'traddie conservationist' I guess, more like a Seth Lakeman version, who has wild hair and lots of bubbles that get up the noses of Grumpy Ol' Sods.. "I could say the same about Kate 'you-could-probably-have-me-if-you-played-your-cards-right-but-oh-do-shut-up-woman' Humble." Now *that* made me chuckle, Shimmy! Actually, Kate's admitted to being in complete awe of Chris, as she's loved his work for many a long year..and she's totally smitten like a kitten, that's plain to see. "By the way, who is this 'Mother Earth'? Is she married to Mr Earth? If I touch her, isn't she likely to sue me for sexual harrassment?" Probably she will at some point, but she's way too busy suing everyone else for Grevious Bodily Harm at the moment, from BP to the bloke who gave the go-ahead to enlarge Manchester Airport.. And Mother Earth is married to Father Time, who knows that Time is Running Out, Bigtime, so he's suggested that well meaning folks get out there and bloody well plant trees by the tens of thousands, amongst many other things.... Your go, Shimmy... ;0) |
|
07 Jul 10 - 06:55 PM (#2941423) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod But Lizzie I've spent the last couple of days, among the wilder bits of South Manchester, where trees are quite happily planting themselves - as I listed somewhere above: Oak, Ash, Hawthorn, Birch, Poplar, various types of Willow, Rowan etc., etc. - and all vigorous and healthy. 'Mother Nature' really does know what she's doing! In fact she's doing it too well because all my precious wild flowers are getting shaded out. Trouble is all these trees are young-ish and even-aged. The most valuable trees are old ones - and you can't plant those. Only time (several centuries) can create an old tree. Around here they automatically cut down old trees - because they are 'dangerous', 'diseased' etc. (what they really mean is 'untidy' - and we can't have that, can we?). Meanwhile all the 'planet rapers' are ingratiating themselves by promising to plant trees (which people like you automatically assume is a 'good thing') while at the same time busily bull-dozing many of those that have planted themselves! Whatever you say, I'm am more and more convinced that tree planting is not an answer to anything. Tree planting is just another facet of the old syndrome of humans knowing best and having 'dominion over everything' - a ruinous philosophy which has brought us to the present state of things. |
|
08 Jul 10 - 03:20 AM (#2941605) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Yeah, Shimmy, maybe you're right... Who gives a fuck.. Let's all stay the way we are. Let's not connect with anything. Let's not try to do one single solitary thing for Mother Nature. Let's just carry on sitting on our fat arses watching the oceans turn black, the dolphins die in agony, the forests being razed to the ground, the saplings being bulldozed over.. We *COULD* plant trees in safe places, in our gardens, in our villages, in our towns, and encourage people to care deeply for them, to understand how important they are and what we have done in letting so many of them just disappear in the name of human greed.. Yeah, I fink that's a far better idea. Let's leave Mother Nature to sort it all out herself whilst we just carry on living our hedonistically hideous, self-indulgent, 'couldn't give a fuck about anything' lifestyle. Brilliant idea! So much better than planting trees! Can't fink why I didn't fink of that in the first place! |
|
08 Jul 10 - 03:37 AM (#2941611) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Mary Brennan Emma - are you writing about Cannock Chase? When the Forestry Commission started to fell trees and restore the wetlands, there was a lot of local protest about trees being cut down. |
|
08 Jul 10 - 05:10 AM (#2941637) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Shimrod Lizzie, I really don't think that you've read a word that I've written. Apart from that, though, I find your comment: "Let's all stay the way we are. Let's not connect with anything" a bit offensive because I believe that it's very important to think about HOW we connect - rather than just rush out and DO things (like plant trees). I've decided that the best thing that I can do for my local environment is to record it (specifically the plant life) in as much detail as possible. That means spending hours and hours studying the flowers, grasses, sedges, rushes, ferns, trees etc. and learning how to tell one from another. Then it means walking for hours along river banks and poking about in neglected nooks and crannies noting everything down. Finally, my evenings are now spent getting all of this data onto a database so that it can be shared with all of the various groups out there who can make use of it. Now, Lizzie, I can just picture you getting ready to bounce and flounce up and down and embark on one of your anti-intellectual rants! But before you do, just consider this: In the 1960s a plant atlas of the British Isles was published (similar ones were published for birds, butterflies etc.). The data for this atlas came from people like me, doing just what I've described above. Thirty or forty years after the first atlas another was issued and by comparing the two it was realised that we were losing significant numbers of plant species (and birds and butterflies etc.). This robust, quantitative data allowed scientists and sympathetic politicians to make a strong case for conservation (a battle which is still being fought). And there's another reason too. My experience is that people have a tendency to underestimate their local patch - they think it's just a load of weeds and bugs (exterminate them!) and that 'real' conservation is about the Amazon, or Borneo, or the Serengeti (which it is, of course - but in those places people think it's just a load of weeds and bugs etc.). By demonstrating that my local environment is really rather rich and varied I might be able to persuade the local powers that be to take more care of it (and I may actually be succeeding - last year I fought a major battle with a rather powerful organisation and persuaded them to change their management practices with quite dramatic results - but that's another story). Finally, one of my favourite patches is currently under threat. The developers would love to get in a tame expert to testify that it is valueless - but I've got the data to prove that it isn't - so they've had to call me in as the local 'expert'. This is going to be the most fraught and difficult battle of my life - but I'm going to do my very best to win. So what was that you were saying about not connecting with anything, Lizzie? You don't actually need to be a facetious git on the telly to make a difference. |
|
08 Jul 10 - 05:36 AM (#2941641) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) "one of my favourite patches is currently under threat. The developers would love to get in a tame expert to testify that it is valueless - but I've got the data to prove that it isn't - so they've had to call me in as the local 'expert'. This is going to be the most fraught and difficult battle of my life - but I'm going to do my very best to win." Good luck with your efforts there Shimrod. It would be really interesting if you could keep us updated on events? |
|
08 Jul 10 - 05:49 AM (#2941642) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Dear Shimmy, I'm sitting here writing this to you with a copy of The Wildlife Trust's 'Chris Packham's Back Garden Nature Reserve' on my desk. I bought it when I worked for The National Trust, as it was one of the many books on nature which they sold. It's a brilliant book and one which I'm sure many people have bought. Chris made Wildlife interesting for the masses, because he made it wild (literally) and whacky, fun and interesting. I am in no being disparaging about your work here and I applaud you for all the hard and dedicated work you so obviously put in, which I'm sure, in its turn has gone on to help people such as Chris Packham help to not only gain their own picture of what is happening, but paint that picture for others to see. I am not talking about *you* being disconnected, but millions of others out there. And if you get on board many children, get them planting trees, taking care of that tree, watching it grow because it is their *special* tree, then you begin to raise a whole new generation with a whole new outlook. This morning I've watched some heartbreaking videos about what is happening around this planet, and I think most of us in here are intelligent enough to realise that something now has to change...and FAST. Indeed, that was the very message put out by Sir David Attenborough himself at the very start of the BBCs Wildlife Appeal the other day, with Chris and Kate on board. Sir David talked about how the world is now a very different place to when he was young, but it wasn't all doom and gloom, but....we HAD to change, and that change has to happen NOW, not tomorrow, not next week or next year, but today, because, if it doesn't.......................... You and people like you who do such time consuming work are equally as important as the Chris Packham's and Sir David's, because all of you, in your own and different ways, are getting the message out... So let our children, young people, old people, all plant as many trees as they want, fill them with bird boxes and bird feeders, worship them, love them, talk to them, whatever it takes..but let them get reconnected to the planet again, no matter what... |
|
08 Jul 10 - 05:59 AM (#2941646) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B On July 8th 1917, Thomas John 'Tom' Thomson (b.1877) drowns in Canoe Lake in his beloved Algonquin Park; a friend and associate of the Group of Seven landscape painters, his death has never been explained. Two of his best known canvases are 'The West Wind' - described as growing "in the national ethos as our one and only tree in a country of trees" - and 'The Jack Pine' both iconic images of trees As a tribute to a great artist and for all those who love wild woods Wildwood |
|
08 Jul 10 - 07:44 AM (#2941683) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Oh BOY! My sapling's arrived! It's a baby Copper Beech! Perfick! :0) I'm going to plant it later on today. Then, I have to do the same for 10 people that I know.. Signed... The Happy Tree Bunny :0) |
|
08 Jul 10 - 08:20 AM (#2941691) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B A Copper Beech (an ornamental cultivar of the European Beech) is especially appreciated in the winter as although it is a deciduous plant it will retain the leaves throughout the winter until the new green leaves appear in the Spring. As it it can grow to 120ft (36m), it is, unfortunately, too tall for my garden but because it's fast growing (up to 60cm p.a) it is commonly used for formal garden hedging Not reccommended for - Heavy or wet soil Frost pockets Dense shade or Coastal areas |
|
08 Jul 10 - 04:02 PM (#2941956) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Lizzie Cornish 1 It's a Purple Beech, apparently, got me colours mixed up.. :0) |
|
08 Jul 10 - 04:09 PM (#2941963) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Emma B The botanic name for the Copper Beech is Fagus sylvatica Purpurea - hence it is also known as the Purple Beech. |
|
08 Jul 10 - 04:12 PM (#2941966) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) Copper Beech's are glorious, and MASSIVE! Where ya gonna plant it LC? |
|
08 Jul 10 - 06:05 PM (#2942034) Subject: RE: BS:Facebook - Brilliant Idea for Trees! From: GUEST,Chris Murray I love copper beeches. We've got one in our garden. Maybe I'm biased as Beech was my maiden name. |
