by Fern Shaw | Jul 8, 2014 | Health and Hydration
The thickest, the oldest, the tallest, etcetera, etcetera …
Sadly, this will be my swan song blog to do with trees. The ‘trees for the office’ protest at the water cooler is being disbanded. Suffice to say it involved some choice language, some sawed through hemp rope, a water soaked carpet and a few bruised egos. Both Mrs Fitzsimmons and I are required to avoid the area around the water cooler and are to have nominated representatives to refill our water bottles for the next week.
However, as with all good swansongs, I’ve saved the best ‘til last.
These are Britain’s most spectacular trees, identified in a new study of prime specimens across the country.
Tallest: A 211ft grand fir planted in the 1870s beside Loch Fyne, Argyll. It is thought to be the UK’s tallest tree since before the last ice age. The fir, in Ardkinglas Woodland Gardens, has “died back” twice in the last 20 years – meaning the top has died, as a result of drought or a lightning strike, before growing back.
Thickest: “Majesty”, a pedunculate oak, in Fredville Park, a privately-owned estate, near Dover, Kent, has a trunk 13ft across, when measured at chest height, with a circumference of 40ft. It keeps this girth up to a height of about 20ft, but is completely hollow.
Biggest (in terms of volume of timber): A sessile oak growing in the grounds of Croft Castle, a National Trust property in Herefordshire. It is 115ft tall with a trunk 9ft thick at its base, with a volume calculated at 3,800 cubic feet, making it Britain’s biggest living thing.
Oldest: There are three in this category, all yews, all in churchyards and all up to 5,000 years old, making them what are thought to be the oldest living organisms in Europe. They are at Fortingall, in Perthshire, Discoed, in Powys, and Llangernyw, in Conwy. Many churchyards boast yew trees, which often predate the church and may have marked pagan burial grounds.
Rarest: There are several tree species of which only specimen exists, including the Audley End oak, (Quercus audleyensis). It was planted in 1772, at Audley End, Essex – now an English Heritage site. Attempts have been made to plant grafts, but all have died.
Most spreading: An Oriental plane at Corsham Court – a privately-owned historic house in Wiltshire – covers an area almost the size of a football pitch, with an average spread of more than 210ft. Planted in 1757, it is so vast that its lowest branches rest on the ground and some have taken root. The largest “unsupported” crown is thought to belong to a Turkey oak, near Shute House, in Devon, which is up to 177ft across – 70 per cent wider than the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral.
Fastest growing: A silvertop – a species of eucalypt – which grew to the height of a seventh floor window (66ft), in the space of six years. The tree, at Harcourt Arboretum – which is run by the University of Oxford – died last winter. Other swift growers include a hybrid poplar, in Kingscliff Wood, Somerset, which reached 98ft in 17 years.
So, there you have it, trees of Britain, in all their glory. Long may they reign, or shade, or give sustenance to.
*Extracts from an article in The Telegraph by Jasper Copping
by Fern Shaw | Jun 17, 2014 | Health and Hydration
As I think we’ve pretty much established by now, I’ve a wide range of things that fascinate me, and a lot of my fascination has to do with Mum Nature. I specify la Mama Nature, and don’t just say nature, because nature can mean how organisms and beings (like us for example) behave. This is not that nature. This is MAMA Nature.
Take moss, for example. No, I did NOT say Kate Moss, I said …! Oh well, never mind – moving swiftly along. I always laugh about moss because of a particular slang expression that was popular in our ‘hood was using the word ‘mos’ after a statement. e.g. ‘He only drinks PG Tips, mos’.
Some factual intro info: –
Moss grows in cool, moist places, often forming dense, velvety masses of vegetation. Individual plants as well as the masses are called moss. Mosses are related to liverworts and hornworts.
About 14,000 species of mosses occur throughout the world, from the Polar Regions to the tropics. Most species live on shady ground, on rock ledges, or on tree trunks. (Moss clumps are most common on the side of the tree that gets the most shade and moisture, often the north side.) A number of species live in rivers and ponds. Moss plants do not grow in saltwater.
The moss plant is hardy. During a dry spell it turns brown or black, and looks dead; but it becomes green again as soon as rain falls. The mosses are among the first plants to establish themselves on rocky ground. They slowly break down the rock, preparing the way for more highly developed plants. Moss plants absorb many times their weight in moisture; they soak up rainfall on hillsides, helping to prevent erosion. The soil-building and moisture-conserving work of the mosses is indirectly of great importance to humans. The only type of moss of direct use to humans is the bog moss, or sphagnum. It forms peat, a fuel, and peat moss, a garden mulch and soil conditioner. Dried sphagnum is used as packing material in shipping plants. Thinking of peat moss and how water filters through peat which can then form the basis for many a fine ‘usquebaugh’ (water of life) single malt whiskies and it’s no wonder that I should love all things moss-like.
Moss is pretty incredible as even if it lays dormant and dried out for decades, sufficient water enables it to spring back to life – quite miraculous in my opinion.
Some examples of types of moss:
Fern Moss (that’s me, that is!) grows on wet ground or tree trunks or in flowing water. It has sprawling branches that resemble fern sprays.
Pincushion Moss, a very tiny plant, forms a cushion at the base of trees in damp woods.
Silvery Bryum is common in pavement cracks and on dry compact ground. It has silvery shoots and dark green leaves.
Tree Moss is an erect plant forming dark-green clumps in woods and swamps. It is six inches (15 cm) tall and looks like a miniature tree.
Water Moss lives beneath the surface of streams and ponds. Its long, slender branches are covered with scaly, brownish-green leaves.
I recently read a novel, ‘The Signature of All Things’ by Elizabeth Gilbert. The novel follows the fortunes of Alma Whittaker (the daughter of a bold and charismatic botanical explorer) as she comes into her own within the world of plants and science. The description of Alma’s journey studying moss captured my imagination beyond belief and brought a new found respect for this incredibly ‘simple’ organism that is such a vital part of Nature.
Respek the moss, mos!
by Fern Shaw | Jun 17, 2014 | Health and Hydration
Photographer ~Jim Wilson/The New York Times
“Who’s a clever water then? Aw, go on, who’s a clever water then?’’
I haven’t gone barmy, (I think my level of barmy has long since been established), I’m referring to this little marvel:
‘*A lemon tree springs from the soil in Jason Aramburu’s backyard in Berkeley, California, alongside rose bushes, birds of paradise, strawberry plants and squash blossoms. The garden is thriving, but its upkeep requires almost no effort from Mr. Aramburu. Instead, a foot-high soil sensor does much of the work.
The plastic-and-stainless-steel device, topped by a tiny solar panel, determines the amount of water to be delivered to the garden each day, using Mr. Aramburu’s Wi-Fi network to communicate with a valve attached to his irrigation system. If the air is humid, or if rain is forecast, the valve limits or cuts off the supply. If the soil lacks nutrients, Mr. Aramburu receives an alert on a smartphone app telling him to add fertiliser. And it doesn’t hurt that the sensor initially analysed the clay-filled dirt of his yard and recommended which plants would thrive there.
The soil sensor and the water valve are Mr. Aramburu’s creations; he will soon begin selling them through his new company, Edyn. But his plan for his business goes beyond enabling people with upscale private gardens to cultivate things like exotic kale and heirloom beets. He also intends to sell sensors to farmers in developing nations at a low cost to help them grow food more efficiently and sustainably.’
Good on you, Mr Aramburu! Although I don’t mean to sound insensitive, never mind developing nations, his little sensor is something that could very much help my gardening efforts. Despite my best intentions (upending a packet of seeds into planters and hoping for the best), the most my poor garden has produced has been some monstrous dill (which prompted me to suddenly start making kosher dill pickles as it’s the only thing I could remember that needs dill); two rather alien looking peppers which sadly expired on the plant and some rather furry, low growing, to date unidentifiable veggie / herb that looks quite pretty but never produced anything vaguely edible looking.
I am, without question, a failure, when it comes to all things garden. See, that’s why inventions like those of Mr Aramburu are so necessary. No more over / under watering of said poor struggle plants from me. Come harvesting season, I’ll have a crop of healthy, happy, well fed veggies the like of which my garden has never seen.
*Excerpts from an article in the New York Times
by Fern Shaw | Jun 2, 2014 | Charity, Water
As you know, I tend to blather on a little about water. Especially drinking water. Clean, fresh drinking water in Africa, where millions of people don’t have access to the life giving stuff as we do. It all seems a bit negative, but that isn’t really the case.
I came across these two articles recently.
The first, from The Daily Mail, said:
‘Huge reserves of underground water in some of the driest parts of Africa could provide a buffer against the effects of climate change for years to come, scientists said.
Researchers from the British Geological Survey and University College London have for the first time mapped the aquifers, or groundwater, across the continent and the amount they hold.
‘The largest groundwater volumes are found in the large sedimentary aquifers in the North African countries Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan,’ the scientists said in their paper.’
The other, from The Telegraph, said:
‘Scientists using technology developed to search for oil have discovered a vast underground water reservoir in one of Kenya’s driest regions that if properly managed could supply the country’s needs for close to 70 years.
Researchers from a French-American firm, Radar Technologies International, worked with the Kenyan government and UNESCO to layer satellite, radar and geological maps on top of each other, and then used seismic techniques developed to find oil to identify the reservoir.
It lies in Kenya’s extreme northwest, close to its borders with South Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda. The area is sparsely populated and prone to conflict over existing scarce resources.’
See, now, this is actually marvellous news, but with this, a word of caution:
“But knowing there’s water there, and then getting it to the surface, are two different things …” Brian McSorley, a water expert at Oxfam in Nairobi, said.
And therein lies the rub. Deep down underground there is potable water – even in the Sahara Desert – but reaching it can be problematic.
That’s why sustainable, practical and cost effective solutions are important. One such solution that has been in operation for a number of years now, addressing this exact problem, can be found through The Africa Trust. A charity started by AquAid and Ian Thorpe. One of the many solutions that The Africa Trust provides is the building of Elephant Pumps throughout disadvantaged communities throughout Africa.
No, they don’t use real elephants. The Elephant Pump is a well based on an ancient Chinese design. The pump has been adapted to make it stronger, more durable and made and maintained using materials that are locally available in remote rural sub-Saharan African communities.
by Fern Shaw | May 19, 2014 | Water, water cooler, Water Coolers
Continuing my love affair with all things tree and in keeping with ‘best of British’, have a gander at 5 trees native to Britain. By native, we mean trees that are at home in Britain and have grown in the country for thousands of years. I’ve included two images of the beautiful birch trees that I mentioned in Trees and Water Part I.
All of these can be planted in your garden (should you have the space) and are fantastic to have as they encourage native insect and bird life.
Alder, Alnus glutinosa
- A quick-growing, nitrogen-fixing, insect-harbouring, bird-loving son of a gun
Planting an alder is a great way to invite birds and insects to live in your garden. These trees grow fast and love damp soil. In the winter, male catkins and female cones dangle from the branches. Its timber was used as a lure for woodworm, which would
prefer to eat away at a block of alder wood placed in a wooden cupboard than the cupboard itself.
Ash, Fraxinus excelsior
- A grand tree shrouded in mystery and folklore
For the Vikings, their ‘world tree’ was an ash: Yggdrasil united heaven, hell and earth. Many pagans saw the ash as a healing tree, and used it in ceremonies and treatments. The wood is very springy and can withstand sudden shocks, so is great for snooker cues and hockey sticks.
English oak, Quercus robur
- Famous for having strong timber, being a home for insects, and for living to a ripe old age
Oaks grow all over Britain. They’re the best at attracting insects (who’ll help to pollinate other plants in your garden)
and can live for over 500 years. Talk about heritage!
Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna
- Its white flowers are a welcome sign of spring after a long winter
The hawthorn is also known as the May tree, and you’ve probably seen loads of its beautiful white flowers blooming in the month of May. Used in spring ceremonies, this tree also has more practical uses and its berries are thought to benefit the heart
and to lower blood pressure.
Hazel, Corylus avellana
- Nut bearing, food for humans and animals alike
If you grow a hazel, you can look forward to harvesting the tasty nuts and perhaps sharing them with garden friends such as squirrels and dormice. The catkins that grow on hazels also look pretty cool – they’re known as lamb’s tails.
So, there you have it. Five gorgeous trees for your garden, most bearing Nature’s bounty for the two legged, four legged (and even six and eight legged) alike.
You’ll need to forgive me if I don’t wax lyrical much more. Mrs Fitzsimmons took exception to my ‘plant a tree / bring a bonsai’ station at the water cooler and in protest, I’ve lashed myself to said water cooler as a last ditch stand. I see things going pear-shaped right smartly!
‘Plant a Tree! Plant a Tree!’
*Excerpts from 10 British trees to grow in your garden.
