Trees 'Getting Away!'

I first heard the term ‘when the trees get away’ a few years ago and didn’t really know what it meant. It was the answer to questions such as 'how long do tree guards stay in place?', 'how many years will I need to manage the bracken?' and 'how long to leave the deer fence in place’. Although I knew it meant in some way when the trees were established; all of a sudden I know what it means.

I have been gathering footage of trees over the summer and here are a selection to show what is now a new woodland.

Scots Pines planted in January 2024 growing up fast August 2025 

Hard to get the scale 

As conifers these are slow growing but have made great progress over the summer. Some are now really sturdy with branches. Others haven't quite got away and I laid new mulch mats on some of them and that seems to have helped. Their shape means they won't shade out bracken for a while yet. There are Downy Birch planted alongside them and will handle the bracken for the Scots Pines to some extent. Some were planted but there is quite a bit of self seeded Downy Birch happily growing where it is wanted. 

The rest of the trees are deciduous trees and are faster growing. The Rowan have done particularly well. While I bought most of the trees from nurseries, I propagated some from the berries collected in Autumn 2022.

 


 

August 2025

Another tree I am delighted with the way it is thriving is the Wych Elm. I wasn't able to source these from commercial nurseries so bought more expensive 3 year old ones from a nursery in Scotland and planted just 100 of these. Well they have really taken off this year. They were attacked by a caterpillar for a short period which worried me but they have come through that. Excitingly it is the caterpillar for the Comma butterfly which I have not seen at the wood and since this is a new species of tree for the wood it could be an example of introducing a richer mix of trees widening biodiversity.

  

The star of the show at the moment is the Aspen. It grew rapidly last year and this spring and then this summer it has gone crazy. I have one stand which is entirely Aspen and that is a woodland now. What amazed me was how the leaves appeared fully grown in June and then over the weeks in July and August they have expanded. They are huge!

 

August 2024

August 2025

Some species are taking longer to get going. The Field Maples are still quite small and just emerging from their tree guards

 

Spring 2025          August 2025

Spindle and Dogwood are similarly taking a while. I have only found a handful of Dogwood from the 150 planted so that has not been a successful experiment and I shall replant with different species. The Spindle have grown this year but it will take a while to create a hedge at the side of the butterfly rides which is the plan. They add a lovely splash of colour in late Summer as can be seen below.

 
Spindle                    Dog Wood

Wild cherry, Sweet and Horse Chestnut are doing well 

Sweet Chestnut                                         Horse Chestnut 

Wild Cherry

The Small Leaf Lime are thriving in some areas but it feels like the numbers are down. I may do a count up before the leaves fall.

Hornbeam and Hazel are coming along nicely

I have planted Grey and Goat Willow and they have really taken off over the summer. Below is the first tree from the newly planted ones, of any species, to come into flower this spring. The white fluffy flowers on the stems on the lower branches and that shows that this is a goat willow.

And the Willow below is the tallest tree newly planted tree in the wood.

I think the Common Alder wins in terms of the most well established and strongest looking trees across the site. They bushed out in June and July this year. They haven't needed to be staked like some of the taller Rowan, Aspen and Wild Cherry trees and are growing straight and establishing thick stems. They appear happy in exposed rocky areas as well as quieter lush parts of the wood and I hope to see them become established as grand trees across the site over the coming years.

I can now see  that if I do nothing more to manage the land (which I will of course) then a woodland has been established. There are enough trees that have 'got away' from different species across the site so that once again there will be a wood on this land that had previously been grazed and had become engulfed by bracken and gorse. I look forward to the next major milestone which is the formation of a canopy across the planted areas. That is some years away  but I feel I can now say that Bel's Wood is established.