A reprieve from the heavy clay soils of last week as we returned this Wednesday to Los Altos to complete the native hedge planting we started a couple of weeks ago.
The threat of a heavy storm kept us focused to get the task completed and we made it, all planted and mulched. We look forward to seeing the hedgerow in it's full glory in years to come.
Here is a link to some history of the location!
Photos to follow
Terry's photos
Another new venue – we are being spoiled!! This week we continued with the tree planting project that Tony, the IWC Tree Officer, is overseeing, at Brown’s Golf Course in Sandown. Some standard trees have already been planted in the south eastern corner of the site and we were to plant a hedgerow mix parallel to the existing hedge which runs along the north-west/south-east boundary. As we have done in previous weeks, the holes were dug and compost, water retention granules and mycorrhizal funghi were added. The whips were planted in groups of six (of any one species) in a random pattern with a rose planted at intervals.
Thank you to Terry for the photos.
Mark's photo
Alison's photos
Team GG had reason to be grateful this morning – the sun was
shining and the morning stayed dry!
After all the recent heavy rain, it was quite a relief. We were working with Tony, the IWC Tree Officer
and his colleague David, planting trees again.
However, today the venue was a new site for us. Foxes Park is a couple of fields orientated northwest
– southeast off Perowne Way in Sandown.
It has a path running through it and is very popular with dog walkers.
In the first field (the northern) six holes had been pre-dug
for us and six trees laid out with all their requirements. The trees planted in this first field were silver
birch, alder, hornbeam, ornamental pear, field maple and a disease resistant
elm. The method for planting was the
same as at Los Altos Park on 14th January.
In the second field four trees were planted. They were hornbeam, liquidambar*, Scots pine
and a wild service tree.
Due to the recent heavy rains, the ground was
saturated. Quite a few of the holes had
to be backfilled before the tree was planted and it was extremely hard
work. The soil was also full of house
bricks and rubble. The clay soil(!) was
keen to stick to the shovels and reluctant to leave them and our boots. At the end of the session, we took advantage
of a handy puddle to clean both tools and ourselves.
* Comment was made about the liquidambar trees that we have been planting. The RHS website states ‘A deciduous tree which grows to 20m tall, broadly conical in outline, with rather glossy, maple-like, 5 to 7-lobed leaves which turn to shades of orange, crimson and purple in autumn’.
Thank you to Mark and Phil for the additional photos and to Tony for the biscuits.
Terry's photos
We returned to Los Altos Park in Sandown this week to
continue with the tree planting project managed by Tony, the IWC Tree
Officer. Funding has been secured to
increase the tree canopy within the Bay area, and there are several of these planting
sessions both with GG and with the public.
Today we concentrated on planting a hedgerow parallel with
the railway track. As can be seen from
Terry’s photos, a double row of holes were dug and the turf retained. A small amount of compost was put at the
bottom of the holes along with some water retaining granules and a sprinkling
of mycorrhizal fungi. The whip was put
into the hole at the required depth and the cut-out turf replaced upside down
around the roots and then backfilled with soil.
At the end of the session chipped bark was put down as a mulch around
the whips. The whips were planted in
groups of six of each species in a random pattern along the hedgerow.
The varieties of trees planted were oak, field maple, black
elder, rose, wayfaring tree, blackthorn, hawthorn, willow, hazel, wych elm and
guelder rose.
Thank you to Terry and Mark for the photos.
