Bel's Wood

 Right from when I first visited the wood I was taken by the elegant profile of this tree. I took so many photos and since it was autumn I didn't know what species it was. There were two large trees with the same lovely arching canopy side by side. There are some lovely older trees at Bel's Wood. There are 4 big oaks, 6 wild cherries and some very mature hazels. In spring I realised that these trees were Goat Willows. The pussy willow fed the queen bumblebees as they emerged from their hibernation in late February. The abundance of flowers provides pollen and nectar early in the season so that the queens can establish their nests and start the process of producing the next year's bumblebees. Once she has fed herself and collected pollen to create her nest and nectar to sustain her, she will remain under ground for the rest of the year and will die at the end of the summer leaving new queens to take her place the following year. I don't name all of the trees at Bel's...

Every year feels like a big year at Bel’s Wood! Year 0 2020 - Find and Buy the land Year 1 2021 - Develop a plan to create a woodland Year 2 2022 - Prepare the land and apply for the woodland creation grant Year 3 2023 - Buy and plant the trees Year 4 2024 - Lay mulch mats and control bracken around the 4,294 saplings Year 5 2025 - Watch them grow! As spring arrives I am looking to see how well the trees that were planted last year have established themselves. I will have lost some just through the process of planting and others through the conditions last year. I was lucky with plenty of rain with no periods of drought but by September, the amount of rain we had had, was causing a problem. Those saplings that had not grown beyond the top off the tree guards were going mouldy! I took those guards off where I spotted this happening but some will have perished.  Some saplings were shaded out by the bracken despite the huge effort put in last year to get round them all in time ...

It is National Tree week in the UK from from 25th November - 3rd December 2023 so I have decided to blog about some of my favourite trees telling some of the stories attached to them. This is a blog about a willow tree that I was attracted to from the moment I visited the wood. This week I will publish blogs about the three mature oaks at the wood, a hawthorn I know as Agnes, in praise of gorse and recognise the hard working yews. Check back in to see the other blogs which celebrate trees during Tree Week. https://treecouncil.org.uk/seasonal-campaigns/national-tree-week/ This particular tree at Bel's Wood I  loved at first sight.  When I first was getting to know the site this tree stood out - tall, symmetrical, elegant and did I say tall? I soon found that I could sit in her and watch birds and wildlife. I wasn't sure what tree she was but took many photographs.  She woke up that first spring in mid March with this pussy willow emerging so suddenly the the sunshine. I ga...