I’ve been planning this post for months, and for some reason never got around to sharing it!
However, what better time to do so than during National Tree Week.
National Tree Week is when we in Ireland celebrate our trees, something we should probably have thought about doing a long time ago. Only 11% of this island is planted with trees, compared to an average of 40% in the rest of Europe.
A mix of trees line our driveway
One of the things that sold this house to us in the first place was the trees. We are so lucky to have such beautiful trees around the house. The Grandad of the previous owners was very forward thinking for his day, and planted lots of trees. We have no photographs of how the house looked, but have been told there was an arbour at the back of the house, and that there was lots of bamboo planted on the southern side to protect from the wind.
My favourite tree… a lovely cool place to have a swing in hot weather 🙂
We have continued the tradition planting trees every year…. and boy were we glad that we have been doing so this winter, as so far we’ve lost 6 rowan trees, our last crab apple tree and a really old plum tree. We weren’t the only ones that lost trees in the area… the wonderful poplar in the grounds of Birr Castle that had been nominated for European Tree of the Year succumbed to the weather too.
This Linden Tree we’ve had to have pollarded. There is a huge split in the trunk, but hopefully if we can continue to have it pollarded regularly it will last for a good few years. It is a beauty.
Last year we took part in the Plant a Million Trees in a Day initiative….and hope to do so again this year.
The view from my kitchen sink 🙂
We all need to cherish our trees. They are such an integral and critical part of the eco system, without trees we are nothing. They are our lungs.
Do you have a favourite tree?
A Year In Redwood 