RUSSELL PAGE, the celebrated garden designer, wrote in his seminal work The Education of a Gardener, published in 1962: 'To plant trees is to give body and life to one's dreams of a better world" I read the book when I was an idealistic student and I needed no second bidding. When, in 1993, my husband and I moved to a scruffy cottage in a Northamptonshire village, it was in large part because of the precious three acres of ground - one acre garden, two acres paddock - that came with the house. We had scarcely finished unpacking before I was ordering trees to plant in the paddock. Thirty years on, the cottage is marginally less scruffy and those three acres infinitely more precious.
Much of the paddock had been a depressing, neglected Christmas-tree plantation, so we set about removing every single Norway spruce and replanting with 400 bare-rooted, two-year-old tree whips, some 18 inches (45 centimetres) tall, comprising a range of common deciduous and evergreen trees: common ash, English oak, silver birch, hornbeam, English and common lime, wild cherry and yew. (We went easy on beech and holly because they grow only very slowly and grudgingly on a heavy clay soil.) We chose native species because they would be tough, naturally suited to the environment, congruous in a rural situation and home to a wide range of invertebrates: beetles, moth and butterfly larvae, gall wasps and the like, many of which would draw in small bird species.
Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin October 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin October 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Going over old ground
Forget modern tractors and minimum tillage - there is something glorious about the sight of farmer, horse and vintage plough in perfect harmony
Return of the natives
There is nothing as satisfying as creating a magical miniature woodland or conservation hedgerow using our native trees - and now is the best time to start.
Tagging the Cornish tunny
Enormous Atlantic bluefin tuna are once again making waves in UK waters almost a century after their showstopping appearance in the North Sea
In it for the long haul
It may have fallen out of favour at the elite level but long-format three-day eventing is still proving popular with grassroots riders
Unpicking the story of hunt buttons
These treasured tokens are bestowed only upon those who go above and beyond in service of their hunt but the rules around them can be complex
A place of tradition in the heart of town
Cordings has helped shape the sartorial landscape of Britain for 185 years, with its classic country tailoring a firm staple of many sporting wardrobes
Don't play it by ear
Hearing loss can have a devastating impact on day-to-day life, making ear protection a non-negotiable piece of field kit
Back to base-ics
Britain's famously unpredictable climate can make staying comfortable in the field a challenge but the right under layers can be a game changer
Stand and deliver
A good stance provides the platform for shotgun marksmanship and is fundamental to consistent success in the field or breaking clays
Heaven is a High Four
A team of guns enjoy a day of the finest sport Devon has to offer, courtesy of the GWCT and a quartet of generous shoot owners