Trees are things I think we take for granted, but just imagine for a moment if there were no trees, I think it really would be strange. Take Greenwich Park for instance, somewhere you know I walk almost daily, without trees it would look very different indeed. I'm sure it'd still be pretty, but it wouldn't be quite the same.

I'll not deny that at times it would make gardening our back garden simpler, but we'd lose the height and privacy they bring. And I'm not even going to touch on how they can reduce our carbon footprint, although I'm convinced they can.

I've 'followed' a couple of trees and shared those with you here too, remember the Pawlownia Tomentosa or foxglove tree - I should pop along and visit it soon really, and more recently the tree that captured my interest on my daily walk through Greenwich Park. Yes, I think it's safe to say that I think we take trees for granted, and it would be very odd indeed without trees.

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash — Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

The future of trees

If like me, you believe trees are good for us - and the planet - then the good news is there's something you can do about it. Maybe you'll plant your own tree, or maybe your part is simply by taking care of the ones we have already.

Last week was National Tree Week, and I'll admit I only discovered this fairly late on and it got me thinking. Does everyone know how to plant or prune a tree? I suspect not, I know the basics, but when we moved the small apple tree on the plot, there was a lot of hoping that we'd got it right.

The advice on the Landmark Trading blog on how to plant trees says to plant in the autumn or winter, prepare the ground well and aim not to damage the root ball. The good news is that the small apple tree was a plucky little thing and has since gone on to produce a bumper crop of apples, so we must have done enough things right.

The only thing we could have done better is weeded it better, but we were so concerned about ensuring its survival and not damaging it as we moved it about four metres from where it was planted. So that means grass grows around its base - and for a tree that's smaller in height than me, that's not such a good look. I've since realised that what would help is a weed guard for trees and of course pegs to keep it in place.

Now let's talk pegs for a minute, and surprisingly I've a bit to say about these. This year in pursuit of our circles, or more precisely weed-free slate beds, we've tried the metal U shaped pegs and the plastic ground pegs, which look more vicious than they really are. While the metal pegs look more attractive, I've found the plastic dart shaped ones much more effective, for the simple reason that the plastic head covers the hole that you make hammering it into the ground. Simple, hey? And now I'd opt for these for everywhere I'm not expecting to need to remove the pegs.

And if you already have trees, then learning to prune them is also a good thing to know. Smaller trees are relatively easy to prune yourself with the right equipment, we prune our own pear tree and the forsythia, but we know our limitations. Mostly our trees are pruned to reduce their height, and to allow sunlight into our narrow garden, and if I can't do it off our tallest stepladder then it's time to get someone in. That may sound an unnecessary expense, but I'd much rather pay a professional to look after our trees, than to pay one to have it removed should it become diseased.

The key thing to know is when, and generally that will be after its flowered. Too early and you'll have no flowers, or fruits the following year, and that seems like a waste of a season to me.

So can you imagine a world without trees? No, me neither...

* This is a collaborative post but all views remain my own.