Environmental issues – global warming etc
As we are again beset by storms and high winds, which will bring another bout of tree loss, it seems a good time to think about the reaction of trees, once they are wind thrown. We assume that’s it; end game, but the tree knows better and will regenerate if it can – and if
Just down the road from me is my favourite beach, at Pagham, West Sussex. Famous for its harbour and wildfowl, it is the adjacent area of vegetated shingle that captivates me. The area has that slightly run-down British coastal seaside feel, the location not quite right for it to be a major tourist attraction, thankfully.
I’m working through a new approach to creating shrubscapes, shrub-meadows, woody meadows, shrub-prairies, or shrub-steppe (take your pick). This is a natural follow-on from my current work investigating coppiced landscapes (see previous article in menu, or link at bottom) and is a landscape method in its own right, but also a linkage mechanism between coppicescape
Why Water and Soil are just as Important. The world has become fixated on Carbon; emissions are the problem, so removal is the solution. This is, unfortunately, an over-simplification of the troubles we find ourselves in; we have Carbon-Tunnel Syndrome. We think we have to find a way to ‘fix’ the carbon problem, then all
It’s August and the woodland edge garden has become a bit shady and dense; time for a bit of summer pruning. Multi-stem small trees like Corylus, Euonymus and Viburnum all throw up epicormic shoots and get congested, especially the hazel, whilst the understory plantings have finished flowering and look tall, bedraggled and invaded by the
Of all the ecosystems out there, forests and woodland are possibly the most abundant and diverse. Think about it; we have a thin layer of soil on the surface of this planet and without foliage, nothing between us and the stars. Plants and especially trees, add layers in-between, build microclimates and nurture life. We should
On this last day of the year, it’s wet and dull outside, so I thought I’d look back at some of the amazing trees I’ve had the privilege to encounter this year whilst visiting and working in the UAE. Some of these I have worked directly with, surveying them as part of a project or
Some of you will know that I have been following the ups and downs of a brownfield site in Abu Dhabi, near the Corniche. I’ve written two articles on it already, one in 2018 and one earlier this year. Links to these are at the end of this post. I visited again last week, the
What is an adaptive landscape, how is it different from other forms of landscape? Is a regenerative landscape also different? Simply put, they are landscapes, either natural, man-made or modified, that demonstrate an ability to adapt, survive and thrive under current and future conditions. Adaptive and regenerative are both expressions of this statement, with some
When we think of green space in a city, we think of trees, parks and gardens. Seldom do we think of these areas as self-sustaining ecosystems, yet they can and should be. Approaching landscape in this way brings multiple benefits but requires a subtle shift in thinking and a new way of understanding plant communities.
