A Woodland Tale

SUDDENLY, two NAKED women and a man wearing nothing but a smile ran across the road in front of me.

Right, now that I have your attention let's get on with the real subject of this article - woodland.

Among the topics mentioned in her editorial last year, the editor of this wee island 'rag' (the lovely and talented Emma), made a small plea for reports from those involved in any tree planting projects on the island. Here, then, is mine.

By and large, trees are conspicuous by their absence on Coll and yet most people, it seems, have some affinity to them. They add an extra dimension to the landscape and general vista; they also play host to wildlife and provide windbreaks and shelterbelts. How I wish I had a plantation like that around The Lodge and each time I pass beneath the canopy it reasserts my desire to try to establish some form of woodland on our patch. The trouble is, our 'patch' is horribly exposed to the prevailing winds off the sea. Much of the ground is wet, boggy and of poor quality which means that successful establishment of trees is going to be one hell of a challenge with a high probability of failure.

Nevertheless, I have earmarked several locations totalling around 7 hectares in all for tree planting if I can prove to myself that there is every likelihood of success (an area of 10,000 square metres represents 1 hectare. One hectare equals about 2.4 acres so the 7 hectares I mentioned above equates to around 17.3 acres). To try and gauge whether we might succeed, we have for the last three years been planting small groups of trees of different varieties on different soil types to assess their performance. The results from these 'trials' will decide whether or not we go ahead with the big project. If the trials fail then there is no point in wasting time, money, and effort on the full-blown wood.

The initial plantings were around the house since if they succeeded they would not only show which species might prove hardy enough for our situation but would also provide some level of shelter to the garden and vegetable patch. The area around the house is not particularly rank or boggy unlike other proposed planting areas and so it is not fully representative of all the proposed locations. Small groups of selected species were therefore planted elsewhere.

The species selected initially were: Alder, Downy Birch, Hawthorn, Scots Pine, Sea Buckthorn, Sycamore, and four varieties of Willow totalling over 700 trees as I remember. For the forthcoming planting season I want to try some Aspen, Wych Elm and possibly things like Lodgepole Pine, Monterey Pine, Corsican Pine, Sitka Spruce and Coastal Redwood.

So far, apart from a few losses which is to be expected, they are all alive and kicking. It's early days yet as generally trees will take at least 3 years before they 'kick in' and display the fact that they have established, but some observations are already possible.

Some Alder and Downy Birch were lost where the ground dried out too much in the dry spell last summer. This is no real surprise as these two prefer moist conditions and indeed those planted in wetter areas have done very well. The Hawthorn and Sycamore are all very much alive although they have yet to do anything astounding, and of the Willow, one variety (Salix Viminalis - 'Bowles hybrid) has done very well while another (Salix Oaphnoides, Violet willow) has proved poor.

The Scots Pine have proved okay around the house but poor in some other areas. The trick now is to identify why this might be. Either way, I am not convinced that they like salt laden winds and ultimately will be best planted within other more salt tolerant species. The Sea Buckthorn seem happy with the sea air, but losses were high as some plants failed to take at all right from the start. However, it is one that I want to persevere with as a nurse tree to others in certain soils.

My planting technique for small thin saplings has been to plant each one with an 18" spiral tree guard around it along with a bamboo cane for additional support. The spiral guard protects against rabbits and hares and acts as a mini greenhouse protecting the wee tree from the worst weather. The possible downside is that the tree might make whippy early growth because of the artificial micro climate created within the guard and will find the real Coll weather a bit of a shock when it pops out of the top.

It's difficult to make any firm constructive comments on how the trees may ultimately face up to the sometimes savage winter weather, as to some degree they are still being protected by other surrounding vegetation such as tall grass. I reckon it will be another couple of years yet before I can make the decision to go ahead with the major woodland creation and in the meantime we will continue to plant small groups in trial plots to assess their performance. I live in hope that we will succeed in spite of our exposure to extreme weather even though I may not be around to witness the end result.

So until next year then; as I watch and wait let me leave you with a little verse that tells beautifully how different woods might perform on a fire:
J.L.D.

Logs to burn, logs to burn; logs to save the coal a turn.
Here's a word to make you wise when you hear the wood-man's cries.
Never heed his usual tale that he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn the proper kind of logs to burn.

Oak logs will warm you well if they're old and dry,
Larch logs of pinewood smell, but the sparks will fly.
Beech logs for Christmas time; Yew logs heat well;
'Scots' logs it is a crime for anyone to sell.
Birch logs will burn too fast, Chestnut scarce at all;
Hawthorn logs are good to last if cut in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like wax; you should burn them green.
Elm logs like smouldering flax, no flame to be seen.
Pear logs and apple logs, they will scent your room.
Cherry logs across the dogs smell like flowers in bloom.
But ash logs, all smooth and grey, burn them green or old;
Buy up all that comes your way; they're worth their weight in gold