I like to remember my mum smelling the roses, stopping to think, breathing in a lungful of sweet morning air (or the sharp, rich fug of a strong coffee) and listening to the excited trill of the blackbirds. She savoured the simple pleasures of life; even before the intrusions of phones and apps, it was… Continue reading Stop and Smell the Roses
Tag: trees
Bring on the blossom
Every year the anticipation mounts. I look out of my bedroom window at the ornamental plum tree on the street, scouring its deep claret branches for signs that the colour is changing, life stirring within. Subtly, from a solid winter opacity to something with just a hint of deepest rose. Sometimes I think I see… Continue reading Bring on the blossom
Freezing weather & bareroot plants
Most of the damage caused to bareroot plants in cold, freezing conditions is to the delicate roots themselves. The roots are fine, fibrous structures with a high water content: moving them, or even the slightest touch whilst frozen, can cause damage. Almost all of a shrub or a tree’s energy reserves are stored in the… Continue reading Freezing weather & bareroot plants
Brutting Hazel to Get More Nuts!
Brutting is a really simple technique to make your hazel or cobnut trees produce more nuts. It is done in August. You can do this on any type of hazel, cobnut or purple hazel. All you do is snap (but don’t break off) the ends of all the new shoots that were made this year.… Continue reading Brutting Hazel to Get More Nuts!
A Yew Supplier’s Thoughts for Yew
We say 3 things about Yew – quick growing when young, likes clay on the dry side & is very durable.
When to prune trees? Winter-Summer
Pruning a tree is not like trimming a hedge, although a seriously overgrown hedge is basically a row of scrubby trees that could need pruning to restore it to a proper hedge again. Young ornamental trees may be shaped using secateurs to prune side shoots, but removing branches on an adult tree will need a… Continue reading When to prune trees? Winter-Summer
When to clip, trim & prune hedges?
Winter and Summer Winter is generally the best time to prune woody subjects and it certainly is the best time to trim the hedge plants you have just planted. Hedges must be clipped and sometimes pruned. Fruit trees need some pruning to maintain the best crops. Older ornamental trees can need pruning if they are damaged or… Continue reading When to clip, trim & prune hedges?
What to do with sucking plants?
Some hedging plants and native trees produce suckers (new plants that grow up from the parent plant’s root system). Sometimes this is good – because you want a bushier plant. Rugosa roses make a bushier hedge, for example, because they sucker. Sometimes this is bad – because the sucker is the same as the rootstock, but… Continue reading What to do with sucking plants?
Saving a Tree that is Falling Over
It crossed my mind this morning that we are in August. September is the other month of the equinox (exactly half a year away from Shakespeare’s “Beware the Ides of March”). March and September are the months when the Earth tilts just more than halfway to or from the Sun. So September and March are… Continue reading Saving a Tree that is Falling Over