Count down to planting

With planting day looming into sight I have been working hard to prepare the ground. Due to the warm weather the planting is likely to be in December 2023 (planned for November 2023) which gives me a bit longer but the bulk of the work is done. I have looked back over the changes that have taken place over the last 3 years by way of preparation.

Below is an aerial photograph taken in March 2021 when no work had been done. It shows the extent of the gorse (yellow flowers can be seen) and bracken (brown open areas). The bare tree tops can be picked out across the site. I have crudely highlighted the beck running through the site. 

With thanks to Andy from Shepherd Aerial for all of the aerial shots in this blog - as soon as I saw the one above I could see the planting plan when before I found the site too much to hold in my mind to create a plan https://www.shepherdaerial.com/?lightbox=dataItem-kn0qc5ia1

What you can't see from this photograph is the height difference which is an important consideration when planting. I want to keep some of the views from the top and so am planning the taller trees at the top and the bottom with smaller trees across the middle of the site. The picture below shows the height difference with the red areas being the highest and the blue the lowest. The total difference is about 45m with a steep slope in the middle. The red area is above Bel's Wood and highlights the boundary on the right of this picture. The blue is below Bel's Wood and highlights where the River Gilpin runs; the wood ends at the green line running top to bottom. I like this photo as it shows the prominent lump on the bottom right (southeast) which, now it has been opened up,  gives great views across the valley.

This highlights the gorse which engulfed the site. I have left some across the whole site but am bringing  a greater diversity of planting by removing it.

The aerial shot below shows the land after the gorse has been removed and the planting areas start to stand out.

When I took ownership of the land in December 2020 this was the gate into the Bel's Wood

This is a gate in name only;  neither the wall nor the fence had been removed. I gained planning permission to add vehicular access to the site and have a wide gate and small hard standing area for parking 4-5 cars on it. This has been essential for diggers, mowers, deliveries and oh yes on one occasion for mountain rescue to access the site.

     

The whole site has been protected from deer by a deer fence that was put in early September 2022.

This new gate was installed

And the beck needed special attention as deer would easily be able to fit below the fence here 

Below is a schematic of the planting zones. This aeriel photograph was taken in April 2023 and the trees, gorse (in flower and yellow) and the areas cleared of bracken (brown)  in each of the zones can be seen. I have left a corridor along the beck and then running north to south unplanted to keep the current feel of the site and also for a wide butterfly ride (black cross hatched areas). There will be some open space at the top of the site to keep the view and the trees have been selected to create different areas with Scots Pine in zones 2 & 4; large trees in 1 & 5; zone 3 on the slope has mostly smaller trees to keep the view from above and zone 6 is a large stand of aspen.

Bracken clearance has been the other main focus over the last 3 years and I have blogged about that before! 

	Planting zones description	Size - ha	Preparation of land ahead of planting November 2023	Trees to be planted
Zone 1:	Gentle slope up from the road; hawthorn, blackthorn and some silver birch. Open areas engulfed with tall bracken; little gorse	0.49	Mechanical bash 3 years in a row with a second manual cut in 2023	550 trees  - aspen, black poplar, wych elm, rowan, wild cherry, hazel, common alder, dogwood

Summer 2021 when the first cut took place 

Engulfed with bracken

September '22 after the late bracken cut

October '23 with little blacken showing this year and ready for planting

	Planting zones description	Size - ha	Preparation of land ahead of planting November 2023	Trees to be planted
Zone 2:	Thick tall gorse and no bracken until gorse removed in February 2022 when new growth came through. Rocky and steep near the top. Some silver birch, hawthorn and blackthorn. A lovely wild cherry and a good stand of oaks at the top.	0.36	Gorse removed February 2022. Mechanical bracken bash x2 and second manual cut in 2023	420 Scots pine and downy birch

This was one of the areas that was so dense with gorse that I could not explore it as shown in these 2020 photos. Once cleared this really opened up 

These handsome rocks have appeared. There is also some quite strong regrowth of gorse which will need to be managed once the saplings have been planted.

Although some bracken returned it has been cut for the two years since it appeared to hopefully won't present too much of a problem for saplings being planted. 

Planting zone ready October 2023

	Planting zones description	Size - ha	Preparation of land ahead of planting November 2023	Trees to be planted
Zone 3:	Middle section running north to south on a steep slope. Engulfed with tall bracken and brambles and  gorse; some rowan, willow, whitebeam, holly trees	1.23	Flat areas mechanically bashed 3 years with a second manual cut in 2023.  Steep sections not cut as inaccessible - some clearance taking place now.	1,095 spindle, crab tree, dog wood,wild cherry, downy birch, common alder,rowan, guelder rose

This shows how tall and dense the gorse was and the video below shows how it looked after the gorse was removed. This area has probably experienced the greatest difference.  The whole zone runs north to south and is one of the largest. 




Other areas had deep bracken that has been tackled. Some on the hill side has not been touched as it was too steep to access. It will be interesting to see how much difference that is going to make to the saplings planted. I have been trying to clear spaces for the contractors to plant in without having to grapple with brambles and will do more as the extra time allows.

	Planting zones description	Size - ha	Preparation of land ahead of planting November 2023	Trees to be planted
Zone 4:	Top awkward shaped section (which I know as The Armpit) engulfed in gorse with some bracken around the edges. The occasional rowan, willow, broom and hawthorn.	0.53	Gorse lifted and left uncut in log piles; bracken growing through and around log piles. Mechanically cut x 1 & manually cut x 1 2023; logs moved to fence; some brambles removed	575 Scots pine and downy birch

This aeriel shot shows the intersection between zones 3 & 4 - both of which were entirely engulfed with tall, old gorse.

This shows zone 4 in 2022 after the gorse was removed. In the other areas the contractors mulched the gorse down and it was flung across the site. It has mostly broken down into the land  ahead of planting. In this Zone 4 the removed gorse was left as whole lifted trees and piled up. A major undertaking this year has been to move those branches, now well rotted down and spread them out along the fence where I would not plant so that there is enough room for 575 trees.

Progress by September 2023

Progress by the end of October 2023 - still some finishing off to do but the piles along the fence show how much has been moved

.This are is the focus of my work just now. I have got down to some large tree trunks from trees that had fallen before the gorse was removed and with help of friends I should get this area ready for planting in the next week or two - storms permitting!

	Planting zones description	Size - ha	Preparation of land ahead of planting November 2023	Trees to be planted
Zone 5:	Runs along the road to the south of the beck. Edged by tall trees on the road side. Engulfed with tall bracken; some fallen trees on prime planting zones. Lovely willows and some remaining gorse.	1.30	Bracken mechanically cut 2022 & 2023 with second manual cut in 2023. Some large fallen trees have been cut up and moved aside where they straddled planting zones.	1,210 hornbeam, field maple, grey willow, sweet chestnut, small leaved lime, hazel, other willows, black poplar, wild cherry, crab apple, common alder

Zone 5 is the largest area for planting and has some lovely large trees established there. It had bracken and gorse which has been dealt with as with the other zones. This elegant willow is one of a pair at the bottom of the hill. This was brought down by Storm Arwen in November 2021.

In most instances I have left fallen and dead trees in situation to rot down as they create new habitats for wildlife and enrich the soil. In this instance the tree fell in a full 360º circle with large logs that cannot be planted in between. This has been cut and the largest logs have been put into a wood pile near other trees. I have needed to move much of the remaining wood to smaller piles in the gorse or at the base of other trees. I am pleased that this zone is now ready to plant having had help from friends.

Zone 5 is ready for planting following a good session this week removing the last of the wood.

	Planting zones description	Size - ha	Preparation of land ahead of planting November 2023	Trees to be planted
Zone 6:	Running down fro the highest point (known to me as the Gin & Tonic Terrace) on rocky and dry ground. Completely engulfed in tall, leggy gorse with some bracken in open areas. A few hawthorns and rowans and one lovely young oak.	0.50	Gorse removed and well mulched down 2022. New bracken established mechanically bashed 2022 & 2023 with second manual cut in 2023. Significant gorse coming through.	440 aspen

Zone 6 was used tor a feeding station for the pheasants reared for a regular shoot through winter just the other side of the fence. There was an electric fence running along here to keep the badgers out. 

This was taken in 2021 and there is a small shooting box still visible on the site. The contract held with the game keeper lapsed in September 2022 and all of the infrastructure was removed.

This is the area in October 2023 - ready for planting.

There is a flush (wet area where water flows and creates a wet grassland habitat) across this site and the aim will be not to plant onto that area as it supports different plants to the surround areas. There will be a stand of aspen in this area which prefers a damper area.

If the trees were ready today then planting could go ahead but with a few more weeks I hope to finish removing the wood from Zone 6 and make Zone 3 an easier place for the contractors to access. The one task I also need to complete it marking out the footpaths so I can continue to access all area when the trees are established and mark the planting zones one the ground for the contractors. I managed to complete Zones 1 & 2 in less than 2 hours in the week so will work across the site in preparation. 

Stakes mark either side of the path and an X the edge of a planting zone. I have just bought some red spraypaint as yellow is rather blending into the background autumnal colours.