Tree Planting Season, Year 10

Well, there's at least another month left of tree planting season for year ten. As you can see, the trees are doing very well.

This area of woods is called 'Upper Bee woods'. It is one of the upper most bits, connected to the bulk of what is planted so far.

It is possible that it is (will be) the highest altitude deciduous woods in the UK.

All the trees are sourced from local wild trees, growing up to 250 metres above sea level. Upper Bee woods is about 400 metres up and it is fairly remote. Up here moss and ferns grow so thickly on the trunks and branches of the trees that primroses can flourish like tropical Orchids in the treetops (especially with a little help).

Most of the trees in this picture were planted in year 6, The Iris (bottom right) were planted in year 4.

My planting year starts in October and almost corresponds to the year. Year 10 started in October 2010.

Where I am now

For the past 10 years, I have been living out in the wilds and making a concerted effort to restock the surrounding countryside, with many rare native plants, also with native broadleaved deciduous woodland.

This is now the tenth year, so much of my work has grown quite a bit and becomes more of a reward each year, as trees get bigger and clumps of plants become more established.

All my trees and plants are stocked from local and wild sources. For this I am unpaid and often plant in the dead of night. My day job is also Horticulture based, but with only comparatively little benefit to mother nature.

Where I find myself now, is at a crossroads in life. What do I really want to do?

The decision I have reached, is that; with a little bit of ingenuity, I should be able to make a living one way or another, from a website (& blog), to be able to fund me to plant trees and wild plants full time and to be able to stop my day job, meaning a projected tenfold increase in what I can feasibly achieve and with all the desired benefit that that should bring to our shattered Eco-systems and to our future generations.