Talking Trees

To continue the series on trees, I expand this year with five more locally growing species.

Alder

'The Scottish mahogany' is a title this tree has because in the past it has been used for making water wheels, piers and bridges. When cut it turns a bright orange brown on exposure and it has a resilience to wear and water. This maybe because it loves to have its feet in water when it grows.

Usually found in nooks and crannies where water flows and stands, this tree can grow thirty or forty feet. It forms a dense wood but as it puts nitrogen from the air into the soil, it encourages other plants like the violet and primrose to be its companions. An otter will make its' home in old roots and the little seed pods which look like small cones are loved by finches and other birds. It is a late ripening seed and gives food further on in the winter. Fish love the tree too as it gives shade and conceals them from the fishermen on the river bank.

There are two forms growing in the Lodge grounds, the common and the grey. I am growing a red form from Canada which grows larger, and in its native country is used for making canoes.

In other areas of Coll the alder is being used to protect other young tree plantations as it is happy in our wet and windswept environment.

Oak

This really is the tree of life: without it the human race all over the world would have to invent something that would house them and keep them warm. Excellent charcoal made from its wood is considered to be the best. From wonderful ships to toothpicks this tree produces a wood that is hard-wearing, strong and beautiful to look at. Out of the sand in Gotten bay, the oak remains of the Harmony show and that has been there for a hundred years.

The bark has been used in the leather tanning industry and ink can be made from the oak gall which is a small insect that bites into a twig and a round growth is formed, green at first then it turns brown when the insect leaves it. The mature tree can drink up to forty gallons of water a day and the furrowed bark houses lichens and mosses used by insects and birds. In a bad drought year, the outer branches will break off so the main trunk can conserve the water for the tree to survive.

In 1939 a group from Durham University found both types of British oaks at the Dairy Loch. Unfortunately they are no longer there, but Nick has planted quite a few now at Grishipol and is pleased with their growth.

The acorns which are the seed of the oak are considered poisonous because they taste so bitter, but they have always been fed to pigs who enjoy them. As children we used the cups as make-believe clay pipes or caps for fairies. I do not think it wise to grow one of these beautiful beasts in a small garden.

Birch

Some people hate this tree because they think it is scrubwood, but if you look at this one more closely you will find there is magic to this one. There are two main species, the downy which seems to prefer the west coast and the silver which likes the drier areas of the east coast.

There are several sub species according to where the tree grows, and it is considered to be a pioneer tree to shelter other trees in new plantations. The tree has been worshipped in the past, and is meant to have fertility properties. The wood is not very good for outside work, but the twigs make the head of the witches broom which is a very good brush for the yard and garden. The best kindling wood is the dried twigs and now the new biomass industry is using the whole of the tree for the furnaces to produce energy. In Scandinavia the tree is used for making chipboard.

The sap of the tree can be collected from the bark (very much like the way rubber is farmed) and it makes a delicious wine. Many insects love this tree and I have seen a whole tree covered in caterpillars spinning silk.

This is a short lived tree but in the winter the silver birch adds a beauty to the garden like no other. It has a ghostly silver peeling hark which is wafer thin and this stands out well on a dull day.

Cherry

We know that this tree has grown on Coll in the past because of the types of moths which have been found here. Now that may seem a wild statement but certain insects will only eat certain foods or pollinate one sort of plant, and a paper written for the nature conservancy in 1987 gives this information.

The species of cherry that grew on Coll is not the one which children love to climb to pick the fruit, but a bird cherry which is very bitter to taste but very palatable to birds. It has a smooth oval shaped leaf which turns an incredible red and orange in the autumn and the fragrant flowers are several tiny white ones on a half inch spike. Cherry wood once seasoned is used in inlays, veneers and for decoration on furniture. Never use it on a fire because it just smoulders and gives no heat at all.

There are some beautiful examples of cherry to be planted in gardens but be careful as most of them will send up suckers. The other problem too is that most of the ones you can buy now are grafted on wild stock and sometimes the wild side outgrows the oriental growth. Prunus Autumnalls Rosea is one of my favourites because it is covered in pretty pink flowers in the winter and never grows very tall. I have planted a few wild cherries in my woodland and they are growing well so far.

Ash

Another strong tree with lots of uses, but the craftsmen would not be without it as it makes good handles and boat oars which do not break under strain. It will carve nicely into spoons and ornaments and is used for making furniture. It is a fast grower and loves water, wind and salt air and will coppice well, growing straight poles.

Usually it is the last tree in the wood to break into its pinnate leaves and the last to drop in the autumn. The litter from an ash tree is always full of life, like beetles and worms. The single winged seeds which are in clusters and called 'keys' stay on the tree into the winter and give food for the birds and small mammals. In the winter too it has big black buds which seem to give it a rich character. The best wood for the fire is ash and it will even bum if it is green.

Apparently the sap of the tree was given to new born babies in the highlands years ago and it was thought that the strength of the tree would sustain the child. I have in the past peeled the young bark off a few twigs, given the bark to the goats and used the twigs in flower arranging. I have planted a few ash trees in my new wood and I am very pleased with their growth, but hares and rabbits love to eat them so some protection is necessary. I got the seeds from a lonely tree growing in Shore Street in Oban. There are a couple of good examples of ash in the Doctor's garden or for something different there is a weeping version called Pendula but you will need some space for it.

Well, here's to next year and another planting season.

Pat Graham