Anyone who regularly drives along the edge of Thirlmere cannot have failed to notice the changes that have taken place over the last two winters.
United Utilities has felled most of the tall coniferous trees on both sides of the road, so that what was once a dark tunnel of a journey, affording tiny, occasional glimpses of the lake, has become light and airy, a pleasure to drive.
The views of the lake are spectacular but, as usual when drastic change occurs, not everyone is happy. There have been vociferous complaints about the remaining tree stumps and brash left on the hillside. There's a rational and, to me, entirely acceptable explanation for this.
The brash (thin branches left after the timber has been removed) helps to stabilise the soil and protect it from erosion by heavy rain. It also helps native saplings to establish, protecting them from grazing by sheep and deer. Over the next few years this brash will gradually decompose, becoming food for fungi and invertebrates.
The same is true for the tree stumps; they might look ugly now but in a few years time, when they have weathered and begun to rot, they will be full of insects, which will in turn provide nourishment for birds and small mammals.
Last time I was passing, I stopped at the roadside to take photos of two of the trees that had been left standing. They had undergone some unusual pruning, using a technique called coronet cutting'. The trees, probably sycamores, are dead but have been left standing to encourage woodpeckers, bats and the like to make use of them. In order to make them look more natural, their tops have been fashioned with a chainsaw to resemble a tree whose top has been snapped off by the wind. They don't look particularly authentic just at the moment but I suspect that, in a couple of years, they will look so much a part of the landscape that we'll hardly notice them. Coronet cutting' is a useful technique that could easily be adapted for use in larger gardens, a good excuse to keep dead trees for wildlife purposes.
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Back in my own garden - and those with long memories might remember me digging up and splitting some lacklustre rhubarb plants back in December 2006. Despite feeding them huge amounts of rotted compost on replanting, my crop last spring was rather disappointing.
This spring, however, I have begun to reap the benefits of my hard work. I've had an upturned tub-trug (handles removed) on top of one plant, and the sweet, pink stems produced in the gloom beneath have been quite delicious. The rest of the plants are coming along well, with fat red stems that will be ready for picking when the forced rhubarb is finished.
Jobs for this week:
If the weather is mild enough, sow seeds of hardy annuals directly into the soil where they are to flower. Sow them in short rows to make them easier to spot among any weed seedlings that might germinate at the same time.
Start cannas in pots in a warm room or heated greenhouse, putting them out at the end of May when all danger of frost is passed.
Begin to stake early flowering herbaceous plants, like peonies, that usually flop over in rough weather. Use pea sticks, garden canes or proprietary plant supports.
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