Planting trees

Often we hear about how the key to solving climate change is planting millions of trees. It probably isn’t quite that simple, but in a garden it can be a good way to encourage wildlife as well as reducing your carbon footprint. In a small garden one can plant only a small handful of trees and shrubs, while in a larger garden, a small woodland can be created.

A few weeks ago I brought about fifty trees from the Woodland Trust’s online shop. There was an array of different species from Small-leaved lime to Holly, for each tree there was a guard and a pole. A couple of days after they arrived, I planted the trees in a few different areas around my garden. I am planning to use them in the future as a coppice.

Coppicing is an old traditional way of managing small woods for firewood and building materials. During the winter months, when the trees are dormant, they’re cut down to their base. The following spring, new shoots will grow out of the stool and after a few years it will be ready for another harvest. A single coppice stool can produce a steady supply of wood for hundreds of years.