|
Do you have a wish for the new gardening year? Perhaps you would like a warm summer for your roses, or maybe you would prefer a sharp cold snap in autumn to ignite the fire within your trees' leaves.
Personally, if I could have one wish for this New Year, I would wish that every garden owner would plant at least one native tree. Planting a tree native to this country would be a great addition to any site. However, planting a tree native to your own particular region would be the horticultural equivalent of preserving an endangered species.
So, what is a native tree?
Well, it's a tree that occurred naturally in an area without being introduced by man. Our native trees grew wild here and evolved organically prior to outside contact.
They have developed in conjunction with the surrounding plant life, animals, fungi and microbes. This creates an ecosystem, sort of like a happy town filled with the townspeople of the animal, plant, and insect kingdom, all slotting into their individual places in nature's hierarchy. In fact, a native tree is the ideal candidate to provide food and shelter for our native wild animals, all the while manufacturing oxygen for animals and humans alike.
During its evolutionary period, a native tree will have adapted to the climate, exposure and soil type particular to your area. Imagine that, a tree that actually prefers your location's possibly sticky soil and windy rain-swept aspect, when all the while you may have been struggling in vain to force some foreign trees to grow in a position they despise.
Historically, our native trees provided the early Irish with fuel, food, shelter, building materials and, on occasion, certain trees became elevated to the level of deity due to their supposed magical attributes. The native tree was a gift from Mother Nature.
Introductions
There are many people out there, including gardeners, who may not be able to pick out which trees are native and which trees are blow-ins. Don't worry, I have a plan. Over the next number of weeks, I will introduce you to these native trees. They have survived invaders, famine, battles and storms to become the Irish trees, which our ancestors knew.
In the coming weeks I will be detailing the following trees:
- Our native oaks, Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea ) and Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur)
- Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
- Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra)
- Our native birches, Silver Birch (Betula pendula) and Downey Birch (Betula pubescens)
- Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
- Our native cherries, Common/Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) and Bird Cherry (Prunus padus)
- Aspen (Populus tremula)
- Our native willows, Goat Willow (Salix caprea), Grey Willow (Salix atrocinerea), Bay Willow (Salix pentandra) and Eared Willow (Salix aurita)
- Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
- Whitebeam (Sorbus hibernica)
- Crab apple (Malus sylvestris)
- Yew (Taxus baccata)
- Juniper (Juniperus communis)
- Scots Pine (inus sylvestris)
- Killarney Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo)
- Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
- Blackthorn/Sloe (Prunus spinosa)
Until next week, when the tree roll call begins, happy gardening and, remember, a weed is just a plant in the wrong place.
Comments () » |
 |
 |
