Accidental transplants...

Since moving to Tinker Creek in 2018 I've been wondering what to do with the huge expanse of lawn that we are now caretakers of. Dotted with trees, mature Ash and Spruce mostly, we carefully mow around each tree and add bark chips, etc to keep the grasses down around them.  Last spring we planted about 60 baby evergreens that were dug up from road allowances in the Sandylands.  Many have survived, some have not.

What's captivated me are the accidental transplants.  When Barrette dug these trees, he kept as much of their root as possible and in most cases, a circle of forest floor about 12 inches in diameter.  A month or two after planting these trees, we began to notice the hitch hikers.  Clovers, ferns, lilies, wild strawberries, wild raspberries, wild rose, and even a lady slipper at the base of one tiny cluster of larch and cedar. 

This spring we watched as these guests greened up and began to grow, even before their trees did. 

 When we buy a tree or a shrub at the nursery, they come with a bit of soil and the basic instruction that we should clear a space for them to grow unimpeded by other roots and growing things.  So we've always surrounded them with mulch and compost and fresh soil, to give them the best chance.  

When I look at these little transplanted villages of root and branch, leaf and needle, I wonder if they could have even survived if we'd taken away their companions.

Now my goal is to nurture not only the baby trees, but to coax these little communities to stretch out into our grassy spaces and take up residence.

This past weekend Barrette dug and planted another 13 tiny Spruce trees and 3 tiny elms on the yard, this time from within a few miles of home.  Can't wait to see who they've brought with them!

Small steps.

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 29, 2021 at 8:18 AM

    Love this! A little bit of forest village on your yard. Recently I watched a scientist give a Ted talk about the underground root networks that link trees in a forest. Trees communicate, nurture and help each other through the root systems. It really is a village. So different than the solitary trees we often plant on our yards. How do they manage without a community?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sandy PlettMay 29, 2021 at 8:21 AM

    That's what I'm hoping for! Can you put a link here to the TedTalk? I'd love to see it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMay 30, 2021 at 8:15 AM

    "Nature's internet: how trees talk to each other in a healthy forest":
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=breDQqrkikM

    ReplyDelete
  4. JoanneMay 31, 2021 at 7:56 PM

    We are keeping our "accidental transplants" from our finds in the sandylands as well. Its so interesting to see what we've acquired. some wild strawberries are blooming today:)

    ReplyDelete

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