In Praise of Big Trees

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second-best is now. According to the Chinese proverb, planting a tree is always the right thing to do. Planting a tree is a promise for the future. It all begins with digging a hole in the ground, carefully lowering the delicate, bare roots of the young tree into its new bed, placing a stake to support the fragile stem during its formative years, gently filling the hole with nutrient rich soil and patting down to ensure that the tree will settle in to its new surroundings and thrive. The benefits of this care and attention at the planting stage, may not be fully realised or appreciated until many years later and perhaps only by future generations, but the reward for planting a tree is momentous.

Read more in the November issue…