Just dug out these old pics from the garden last December. Can you believe the snow this christmas just gone?
He has a quick look up to check
Hungry Wood Pigeon
Monthly Archives: January 2011
Trees for Birds
The Waxwings favourite dinner: Rowan Tree berries
With all the extreme conditions we got over Christmas it’s pretty safe to say we were all affected by it in one way or another. Anyway, It got me thinking about how wildlife and how they were coping. In turn it got me started thinking about what trees provide the best natural food for wildlife in your area and attract these creatures year on year. So armed with research gathered over the week, I bring you the Tree2mydoor guide of the best Trees for supporting wildlife.
Tree: The Rowan Tree
Wildlife: The lush red berries from the Rowan Tree are always in high demand by all sorts of garden birds. It’s a great tree to introduce birds into the garden and provide a natural source of food for them. The berries from the Rowan are a particular favourite of the Waxwing… and I found out this interesting little fact; the people from Sipoo, Finland are noted for saying that winter has not fully begun until the Waxwings eat all the berries from the Rowan Tree. So if its birds that you are after, you can’t go wrong with a Rowan Tree.
Tree: Oak Tree
Wildlife: Oak trees will eventually grow a fair bit bigger than Rowan trees, and so are suited to the larger garden. Nevertheless their grandeur and beauty cannot be matched. Known as the ‘father of the woods’ the primary food source that the oak tree provides is through its acorns. Squirrel’s just love getting stuck in and having a go at the acorns. However it’s not all about squirrels, large native trees like the Oak Tree are home to all sorts of grubs and larvae that birds love like wood pigeons and Jays.
Tree: Silver Birch Tree
Wildlife: Silver Birch Trees are not only fast growers, but a perfect supply of food for your garden wildlife friends. Birch trees are great for caterpillars, sawflies and moths, they just love them. The silver birch tree is one of the most valuable trees for wildlife, as it supports over 230 species (wow!).
Generally speaking, it is best to choose native trees over non-native ones if you want to attract wildlife to your garden. Native trees provide a valuable source of food in the form of insects over the harsh winter months and in summer; trees like the Rowan Tree on the other hand provide a great source of berries for birds.
View our full range of native trees here.
Tree of the Month January 2011: Silver Birch
As regular blog readers will know, our ‘tree of the month’ features are all about our favourite tree for that particular month. We talk about what makes that tree special and what ties them to that particular time of year. Now, some trees seem tied in our memories to particular times of the year. For me, the apple tree is always ingrained in my thoughts around October time (see my tree story here). As those of you who’ve ever had a Bramley Apple Tree will know, this is the time when you will start to harvest all those lovely apples. However, whilst some months seem forever tied to a particular tree or an experience in your mind, others do not seem to really have a particular tree associated with them. January is one such month…
At first glance it would be quite easy to write of January as a bit of a bleak month in terms of nature and wildlife (or just in general); its slap bang in the middle of winter, days are short and it’s usually freezing. January just seems like one of those months where the garden is at the back of your mind and staying inside, keeping warm and doing a bit of hibernating seems like the sensible thing to do. On the other hand January is the month where we start to get the first inkling that spring is just around the corner. The snow drops begin to start showing and days are actually staying light longer. January is a great time to get out in the garden and do some ‘spring cleaning’ so to speak, in time for the year ahead. Weather permitting; January is actually a great time to plant a native tree out into your garden as they are dormant.
Anyway, with all this in mind, it was actually quite difficult trying to think of a ‘tree of the month’ for January. However armed with a bit of recent research, I have found a great and fitting tree for you this January.
Tree of the Month for January: Silver Birch Tree
The birch tree represents birth and regeneration, quite fitting, I think for the New Year in your garden and symbolic of the changes about to come in the next few months as we head into spring. Birch trees are really rather fast growers in comparison to a lot of other native species: they can grow 16-20ft in 10 years but they won’t grow anywhere near as big as an oak for example. According to tradition, the Birch is also associated with magic done for creativity and fertility, as well as healing and protection. A perfect symbol for this New Year I’d say.
Do you have a tree that you think fits a particular month? Or a favourite tree in general? Join in and let us know on Twitter or Facebook.
A day out at the Nursery
New Year’s Resolutions and Planting Trees
I’m sure everyone has already made their New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps some of the naughtier of us have already broken some and maybe some of the really terrible among us have already completely quit the New Year’s resolutions and are telling ourselves we can wait until next year for all that nonsense once again.
New Year’s resolutions often seem very boring and not much fun at all, they seem to revolve around cutting out what was once fun; chocolate cake, a few cheeky drinks etc. Sometimes that is not necessarily a bad thing, it is true that you can have too much of a good thing, but does it really have to seem so boring?
So given all this, I’m aware the last thing you probably want to hear about is yet another New Year’s resolution that we all need to follow, yet I still cannot resist making just one more that relates to us all. (Sorry).
But here it is the best New Year’s resolution ever; to plant a tree. There it is so simple, but so good in oh so many ways.
Why should you plant a tree as a New Year’s Resolution.
- Planting a tree is great for the environment and the local wildlife. Plant a native tree and help out the birds in your garden. Try a Rowan Tree, birds love their berries in January.
- You get to eat fruit that you have grown. How great is that? Imagine an orange straight from your orange tree and into the juicer.
- Watching your tree grow over the years is such a satisfying and gives a wonderful feeling of continuity.
- Plant a tree and help out the rainforest. Our dedicate a Tree packs and help conservation projects around the world and are so important.
- Planting trees is a great activity to get young ones involved in and a great way to teach them about nature and keeping them interested in wildflife.
- Trees give us a sense of peace and a connection with nature; a perfect way to forget those weekday blues.
Hope everyone is enjoying the New Year, remember to stop by and say hi to us on www.twitter.com/tree2mydoor
Check out this Tree2mydoor video about How to Plant a Tree:
VAT Free Gifts at Tree2mydoor
Hello everyone,
Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year and didn’t go too overboard on the mince pies (woops) and sherry.We’ve been working hard to send out trees that couldn’t be sent out due to delivery network distributions.
Now as you all know VAT tax has been increased. However if your looking for sneaky ways to avoid the VAT increase this year, then you should check out our VAT free presents. All our Fruit Trees and Citrus Trees are VAT free….. Brilliant!!!! So hope you all enjoy them. They are my hot tip for January best seller at Tree2mydoor.
Quick up date on tree care:
- Remember not to plant your tree outside if ice is expected (I know you probably couldn’t do it anyway, but still… I’ve got to say).
- You can happily store native trees in a cool dark place (like a garage) until the weather gets better.
- You can protect a young plant with shredded mulch. For a greener use of last years Christmas Tree, try shredding it and using it for mulch.
- If it is not icy, and the weather is looking good. Now is a great time to plant out native trees into your garden because they are dormant at the moment.
- Citrus trees really benefit from an extra helping hand at this time, try our winter citrus feed.
