Some projects give you instant gratification. The Zinnias and Dahlias we grew from seed this spring gave us armloads of cut flowers and were a real boon for pollinators. Others, like the Roses and Hydrangeas, gave us a preview but we knew full well that the best was yet to come. And finally (and most frustrating) are those garden projects that you must do on faith—relying on perspective and optimism to see you through the hard graft of a job that yields little in the way of a satisfying sense of completion. Our 100+ saplings from the Virginia Department of Forestry fall into that final category.
I’ll confess I’ve never moved into any new space that had the right amount, right type, or right placement of trees. It is either barren, teeming with invasives, or sporting great trees blocking every possible attractive vista. Willow Greens Farm has a mix of all three. One of our first tasks was the decidedly un-fun job of spending good money taking down bad trees—trees that threatened to fall on the house, trees that had outlived their usefulness (I’m looking at you, you misshapen ornamental cherries), trees that were choking out other trees. Once this was done we were faced with the ironic task of replacing some of those trees with new, better trees to fill the space. And throughout the year we’ve planted about 20 fairly mature trees to re-establish balance.
Looming on the horizon, in every sense, has been the reforestation/rewilding/ creating a shelter belt on the north side of the pasture. Having been a pasture for some 200 years, it is completely denuded of trees except for an accidental copse that grew up when previous owners created an impromptu brush pile, inexplicably, in the middle of a field. Given that this is a lower priority, longer-term project, we opted to economize by starting with very small trees and a significant amount of work.
The arrival of the trees caught us by surprise (the folks at the Virginia Department of Forestry are many things, good communicators they are not) and our anticipated tree guards went from “delayed” to “indefinitely backordered”. Our plans to auger and plant went by the wayside and we were forced to improvise with the more costly option of planting each tree in a fiber root pouch, lining them up outside the barn, placing them on a regular watering schedule, and having a think about the next step. One thing was for sure, no trees could go into the ground unless they had fairly ironclad deer protection.
Much noodling followed as I tried to work out the most cost effective fencing solution. An eight-foot high deer fence surrounding the area was awkward and expensive, which left the creation of two-foot diameter cages fashioned from 330 feet of goat and sheep fence. This nets somewhere near 45 cages (circumference = 2pi r) and seems about right for the space.
The method of work consisted of lifting a two foot circle of sod, digging to a depth of 12 inches, constructing a cage, planting the trees and securing the cages. With a little practice I could knock out about four trees per day. Arranging the Pin Oaks, Black Cherries, Eastern White Pine, and Loblolly Pine into attractive groups of three or five gave the most satisfying results.
In a move that will infuriate the purists, I am keeping the five or six much-maligned Bradford Pears that have sprung up until these other trees reach 10-15 feet. In many ways I can see why these became the go-to trees for developers. They grow quickly, keep their leaves well into the autumn, and have a nice habit. It was only later that it became clear that in addition to the stench of their flowers they hybridize, run wild, then grow for 15 years before splitting in two. It is for these reasons that they are universally despised and are now illegal to plant in several states. But the birds land and nest in them like any other tree, so they get a reprieve until the oaks catch up.
Planting trees, especially keystone species like oak, gives you a good feeling. And although it will take a while for them to make an impact, I’m hoping there will also be some satisfaction in the incremental changes this new space will show over the next few years.
Of course I had to look up loblolly pine because it's such a great name. We don't have them here. Sycamores aren't common either (not warm enough in these parts). I hadn't known that Bradford pears were stinky, although I did know the fruit is toxic for dogs. What a lot of work you've done planting and caging those specimens! I hope some of them are fast growing so you'll get the joy of seeing the results of your labours.