This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Friday, 22 April 2011

Jobs for the Weekend

I'm hoping to make a mini forest over the weekend. I've had a variety of wildlife specie trees delivered. They're bare root whips and will grow quickly once established.
Over many years, Ireland has gone from 95% forest cover to 8.3% in Northern Ireland. The European average is 36%. Along with the decline in woodland is a decline in native plants and animals.
(Source: Conservation Volunteer NI website).

So I've decided to plant a mini forest in a wild area of the garden, approx 1/2 acre. It'll consist of mixed wildlife trees like birch, hazel, crab apple, hawthorn, rowan, ash and alder.

I've stuck my bare root plants into some moist wood mulch for a few days until I get them planted.


A job that will keep me going over Easter... mulching around the shrubs and beds in the garden to suppress weeds. No gym workout
required!
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10 comments:

  1. Mark Willis22 April 2011 at 01:26

    Kelli, I'm jealous of your half-acre! I would dearly love to plant a forest. I have visions of a shady glade and a bank of bluebells in the dappled sunlight... *day-dreaming again*

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  2. cathy@home22 April 2011 at 02:25

    Every year on the New year of the trees we plant trees.I love this day when all the generations come to plant for the future.

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  3. Karin / Southern Meadows22 April 2011 at 02:27

    What a wonderful effort! I am sure it will be amazing once all those trees are established. I agree that working in the garden deserves a missed gym workout. Happy Earth Day!

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  4. Malay-Kadazan girl22 April 2011 at 05:21

    You are doing marvellous and the right things in your garden!

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  5. Hazel22 April 2011 at 07:16

    don't forget to leave a few paths wandering through your little forest. I love Mark's comment too..sounds idyllic!

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  6. Elly's kleine idylle22 April 2011 at 12:26

    O wow, Kelly!,
    You get a real mini forest??
    Then you get too wild animals!!
    It is a beautiful project and you have the space for it, as I understand.
    I wish you a happy Easter .. and ... a useful work for your forest.
    Dear greetings, Elly

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  7. Egretta Wells blog22 April 2011 at 12:30

    What a hard-working industrious woman you are, Kelli. It sounds so nice to have all those beautiful trees on your 1/2 acre and think how the birds will love it! Happy Gardening and Happy Easter, too.

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  8. Rainy Day Gardener22 April 2011 at 20:57

    Kelly, your plans to plant your mini forest are so inspiring! I too wish I had that much room to devote to a mini forest...well, I just wish I had that much room in general. It will be exciting to see how these trees thrive and what new wildlife they will attract! Happy Easter Weekend :) Cheers, Jenni

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  9. Peggy27 April 2011 at 14:31

    Hi Kelli, it sounds idyllic to plant your own forest!A woodland section of your garden will be such a novelty and we will all be so envious!

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  10. Janet/Plantaliscious27 April 2011 at 22:08

    What a fabulous thing to be able to do - like the others, I am a tad jealous, but with the decline in natural habitat people like you are much needed. Shocking stats.

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