I love the pastoral views on PEI, watching tractors go by and cows grazing on a hillside. The red sand beaches and lighthouses here are amazing to behold. Despite all this amazing scenery I find myself missing trees. Oh, there are trees here, but not in the numbers that I'm used to. Instead of looking out my window and seeing my half dozen birches waving at me I would love to see a forest of them. Because where there are trees there are also birds and squirrels. Seasons change and leaves turn colour and fall. Vistas open up and close again. The view is constantly changing, there is always action and excitement. Gazing at a hillside of trees I once watched an alder suddenly burst and topple. Even in death a tree offers so much to see.
Due to my tree love I'm on a mission to change the balance of things on our property to more trees and less lawn. So early Saturday morning we hooked the trailer up to our truck Betsy Bear and headed out to King's County to buy some trees. This island is blessed with the presence of MacPhail Woods. The MacPhail Woods Ecological Forestry Project is an organization funded by the Environmental Coalition of PEI and the Sir Andrew MacPhail Foundation. They work to promote forest stewardship, watershed protection, provide environmental education and ecological research. They also run a native plant nursery which sells trees! Proceeds from the nursery fund many of their educational programs. One of the amazing side benefits of this great place is that not only can you buy native trees there you can also view mature trees and get a sense of what your purchase will look like in the years to come. Not sure what to buy? A visit to their website contains all sorts of information on the various plants, how to plant them, what animals will benefit from them and photos. From my perspective native trees and plants are ideal as they are suited to the soil and weather conditions so no pampering, or guesswork, is required. I also know that they will provide shelter and food that local birds and animals will use. It's a win win situation all around.
Cedars, Larches and Birches, oh my! |
Digging out the sod to place this white pine. |
This yellow birch will help to screen out the noise and traffic from the road |
5 comments:
I didn't know you don't need to stake them when they are little. That's good to know as I tend to buy trees when they are ity bity. I always look longingly at a tree farm that I pass when I'm out on errands. Your post has me twitching to see if they have on site sales.
Hi Laura! From what I've read most people are moving away from staking trees. They can easily become dependent on the stakes for support and become unstable when the stakes are removed. I think if I had a large tree (over 10 feet) in a windy site I would still stake it but anything under that I would rather the tree learned to stand up on its own.
p.s. MacPhail took 5% off any purchase over $100. I'm sure other nurseries would have similar set ups if you checked.
I think you are very wise. Trees add so much to a property, not to mention the quiet, privacy and sense of enclosure. Enjoy!
Wow, 15 trees and shrubs! How's your back doing? I have to plant four trees this year and I've got the pain meds in readiness;)
Christine in Alaska
Hey Christine! They were SMALL trees and shrubs. No heavy lifting just lots of digging. And I have a secret weapon - Dr. Ho. You've probably seen the infomercials, don't laugh!, I don't normally go in for infomercials or shopping network but this thing is MAGIC. It's called the Muscle Therapy System, these little pads you stick on your body and they send electrical impulses. Slap it on and then sit on the couch and watch tv or work at the laptop. I sleep like a baby after using it.
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