Trees and bushes on my ditch

pedigree 6

I was reading the posts on mixed forestry here and other posts about trees.
Maybe this should be in the forestry section. Mods move if you wish.
But it got me interested in checking out what's on my own external and internal bounderies.
There's a few species that I sowed for firewood -ash, sycamore, eucalyptus and popular (don't like seeing ground wasted).
Plus the bushes make firewood as well as shelter.
So I went out with the camera this morning (finished silage yesterday) and took shots of some different species on the ditches (prob missed a lot more).

Elderflower.

Gorse bush

Blackthorn

White hawthorn

Sycamore

Ash tree

Birch tree

Holly

Privet

Willow (sally bush)

Oak tree

Beech tree

Red hawthorn

Eucalyptus

and finally Popular


If boards has crashed you can blame it on me.
I'd say the best thing if anyone wants to reply do a new post underneath don't reply to this one.
I'm a dairy farmer and as I say got busy with the camera this morning.

Kovu

What a great idea for a thread pedigree! You've got some lovely diversity there, plus now I know that it's a privet hedge that I'm slowly destroying every time I walk past it (I have a habit of taking a stem in one hand and pulling it, stripping all the leaves off that piece:pac:)
Don't worry if the first post is quoted, I'll snip it from the reply to save a bit of space.

Muckit

I was full sure this was another neighbour v neighbour boundary dispute!!!

Glad it's not. A great idea for a tread. It's only in the last while that lve taken a keen interest in what's growing on my farm.

There's all these park and wildlife trails and what's growing outside many of our back doors is every bit as good. Perhaps I'm wrong but i think the alpreciation of nature and wildlife skipped a generation with the promotion of intensification and the pulling out of ditches in late 70s and 80s by our fathers.

croot

Good Pics Pedigree and good idea for a thread.

Muckit wrote: »

I was full sure this was another neighbour v neighbour boundary dispute!!!.

Ya I though its was a "Whos been cutting my hedge" thread as well

Muckit wrote: »

It's only in the last while that lve taken a keen interest in what's growing on my farm.

There's all these park and wildlife trails and what's growing outside many of our back doors is every bit as good. Perhaps I'm wrong but i think the alpreciation of nature and wildlife skipped a generation with the promotion of intensification and the pulling out of ditches in late 70s and 80s by our fathers.

I remember as kids Dad would show us loads of stuff about wildlife but in a way it was almost considered old fashioned. The good farmers were meant to be pulling out hedges and ditches to make big open fields and lash out loads of chemical fertiliser and forget about shelter or clover and other grass species if its not rye grass

pedigree 6

croot wrote: »

Good Pics Pedigree and good idea for a thread.


Ya I though its was a "Whos been cutting my hedge" thread as well


I remember as kids Dad would show us loads of stuff about wildlife but in a way it was almost considered old fashioned. The good farmers were meant to be pulling out hedges and ditches to make big open fields and lash out loads of chemical fertiliser and forget about shelter or clover and other grass species if its not rye grass

Don't get me wrong. I've taken out ditches if it didn't suit the field and I spread fert like the next fella. But I will use the ditches that I have for shelter and firewood. The trees that are there already will be there for when I need them and in the meantime I keep planting other ones to replace them. So never short of firewood. Anyway just went out this morning to see what was there and I think compares very well or better than commercial forestry (ecologically).

patsy_mccabe

My Grandfather worked for the local forestry and set a lot of trees around the farm. Most of them are huge now and I really value them. Great to see others here too that appreciate theirs.
We've a huge amount of hedgerow in this country compared to our Europesn neighbours as we somehow missed that period of farm modernisation. Long may it continue. Sustainable farming is the way forward.

greysides

Just one thing I noticed about the photos.... the 'Privet' is actually Box, a tree in parts of the UK but used here for hedging.

It's likely an escapee from a garden or the remains of an old hedge of a house long gone. There's a much smaller chance it's a shrub Honeysuckle as these are really only seen in gardens.

This is a Privet. I used always mix them up myself as both are traditional hedging plants. The pictures aren't great but the Box leaf is very small while the Privet is a 'normal sized' leaf.



I enjoy looking at the hedges as I drive around. At the moment the natural variation in colour amongst plants of the same species i.e. Whitethorn (very red to pure white), Dog Rose (dark pink to white) and Honeysuckle (white to mild yellow), is quite interesting and easily observable.
I went to a talk in Dublin once and the point was made that if you look at hedges and the species in them, trees, bushes, herbaceous plants etc, they have the same mix as woodland. So at a time where our native woodlands may be declining hedges can be considered to be linear woods.

The mix of trees will vary with soil type so some others may like to show what's in there localities. Any one have Strawberry Trees or Damson's in their hedges?

pedigree 6

This is a damson tree we have beside a small leaved privet hedge.;)


This is a variegated box we have for comparison.

Edit: maybe they are a type of box. Only spreads from cuttings stook in ground.
Anyway open up to the rest of the country.
What's in your ditch?
Pics if you can otherwise name some.

Birdnuts

I'm jealous of your shrubbery Pedigree;) - the only thing that grows on my place next to the sea in North Mayo is gorse and creeping willow:(

mayota

Birdnuts wrote: »

I'm jealous of your shrubbery Pedigree;) - the only thing that grows on my place next to the sea in North Mayo is gorse and creeping willow:(

Rhodedendrons

mattser

Super thread lads. I'm hooked already.

oleras

That beech tree is magnificent.

greysides

pedigree 6 wrote: »

This is a damson tree we have beside a small leaved privet hedge.;)


This is a variegated box we have for comparison.

You have me there, I've never heard of small leaved Privet. The three types we have in our garden are the green, the gold variegated and the silver variegated. They are all large leaved.


I was working in a place that was beside old ruins. There were several Damson trees in the ditch with ripe fruit. It was the first time I ever tried them. I kept several of the seeds and hopefully one day will grow them.

They looked like a nice small sized tree.

DX85

This post has been deleted.

pedigree 6

greysides wrote: »

You have me there, I've never heard of small leaved Privet. The three types we have in our garden are the green, the gold variegated and the silver variegated. They are all large leaved.


I was working in a place that was beside old ruins. There were several Damson trees in the ditch with ripe fruit. It was the first time I ever tried them. I kept several of the seeds and hopefully one day will grow them.

They looked like a nice small sized tree.

If your looking for damsons send me a pm. Very easy grow from the stones and make jelly or jam.

Kovu

We have a couple of damsons on the old farm, fecking cows ate them on me last autumn
Have lots of trees around here, only took out three or four hedges over the years so plenty of mature ones for shelter. Most of the main suckler fields are on the broad sides of a drumlin so need them for windbreaks.
Only odd ones I can think of would be some copper birch and scots pine. Plenty of willow, mature ash, silver birch, sycamore, black/white thorn, crabapple, alder etc.
Plus the usual whins (gorse).
Also a few oak trees that would be a couple of hundred years old.

DX85

This post has been deleted.

Muckit

Elderflower lemonade that my sister has on the go.

She also makes a gorgeous damson relish with damsons, tomatoes apples sultanas brown sugar and spices. Now a spoon of that on top of a piece of nice cheddar cheese..... heaven!!

patsy_mccabe

If an elderly aunt that makes wild plum jam. Loads of sugar and cloves. I'm convinced she'd win prizes if she ever entered it in a competition. I get the job of picking them from the roof of the tractor.

greysides

pedigree 6 wrote: »

If your looking for damsons send me a pm. Very easy grow from the stones and make jelly or jam.

Do the seeds need exposure to cold to activate them? How do you do it? I have seeds.

webels

greysides wrote: »

Do the seeds need exposure to cold to activate them? How do you do it? I have seeds.

Put in freezer maybe?

pedigree 6

greysides wrote: »

Do the seeds need exposure to cold to activate them? How do you do it? I have seeds.

I don't know to be honest. Only use fresh here and sown in pots outside and they come up next year.
I'm sounding like a nursery here only do the odd few.

greysides

Thanks, I will try them outside next winter.

Miname

webels wrote: »

Put in freezer maybe?

A neighbour grew a heap of plants this way from a few different seeds, it was a first for me anyways. Damson only thrive in a certain soil type or so I was led to believe.

kelslat

Great thread, I must try and appreciate the hedges more around our place.

pedigree 6

Good interest in damsons apparently.
We had an older tree beside the road and the kids from the village used to climbing up in the tree picking them. fe#kers.;)
When they ripen on the tree they're sweet enough.
Good info here.

http://www.daiv.co.uk/guidetodamsons.php

rliston

Anyone able to identify this tree?

Capercaillie

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

My Grandfather worked for the local forestry and set a lot of trees around the farm. Most of them are huge now and I really value them. Great to see others here too that appreciate theirs.
We've a huge amount of hedgerow in this country compared to our Europesn neighbours as we somehow missed that period of farm modernisation. Long may it continue. Sustainable farming is the way forward.

Ireland (excluding iceland) has the lowest percentage of native woodland in europe. Quality of hedgerow in this country has decreased considerable in last twenty years. A high percentage are (IMO) are over-cut and have reduced biodiversity as a result.

ABlur

rliston wrote: »

Anyone able to identify this tree?

Alder

Base price

Capercaillie wrote: »

Ireland (excluding iceland) has the lowest percentage of native woodland in europe. Quality of hedgerow in this country has decreased considerable in last twenty years. A high percentage are (IMO) are over-cut and have reduced biodiversity as a result.

I hate to see field hedgerows cut to 4 or 5 foot. Too many people went wild with flail heads over the years and aspired to have their farms appear like stud farms.
We use a flail when necessary but only to trim behind the electric fence.

djmc

I made sloe gin a few years back from Blackthorn's growing on the farm addictive stuff.
Have also found wild raspberries and rearly wild strawberry on the roadside ditch.
When I was young I used to pick fracuans (bilberry) and mash them up with sugar and i think I still crave that taste. The Canadian blueberry wouldn't come close to the intense flavour.

Username John

djmc wrote: »

I made sloe gin a few years back from Blackthorn's growing on the farm addictive stuff.
Have also found wild raspberries and rearly wild strawberry on the roadside ditch.
When I was young I used to pick fracuans (bilberry) and mash them up with sugar and i think I still crave that taste. The Canadian blueberry wouldn't come close to the intense flavour.

We have the wild strawberries and the bilberries on parts of the road ditch... Although we used to call the bilberries 'hurts' when we were small I think...

As for blackthorn, hate the stuff... Have it almost cleared from here now... Twould break your heart growing out into the field...

_Brian

Our damsons suffer with late frosty winds and we only get a decent crop maybe one year on three.
Made hedge row wine with damsons a few years ago and it was nice, have a bottle or two stashed away still.

Kovu

Oh the fraughans or however they're spelled. Love those, they grow all the way down both sides of our lane. Used to make me terribly late when walking for the schoolbus in the mornings

DX85

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zetecescort

Would have a good selection of what's already been mentioned but we also have a good few Common Lime trees, both lining the lane way into the yard and growing in the middle of a couple of fields.

greysides

Any one have Whitebeams growing wild or are these always planted?

_Brian

Hedges here are all white thorn and blackthorn. Hedges are very overgrown in many places, providing good shelter.
Some real good sized ash trees, one sycamore, crabapple and damson.

Whins are well gone now with spraying then scrubbing out.

Have planted few trees at my own house, small orchard of 16 trees, be nice in time. Have about 50 fruit bushes planted, black/white/red currants and gooseberries.

Have planted some willow for coppicing for firewood.

jimini0

I'm in the planning stage of reclaiming a field around 4 acre. I was goin to split it into 3 areas. Its only ever goin to be for grazing. It has open drains in it. I was goin to fence along one side of those drains. But reading through this tread I'm half thinking about planting a hedge to split it up. My ould fella thinks I'm mad.

Wanderer78

jimini0 wrote:

I'm in the planning stage of reclaiming a field around 4 acre. I was goin to split it into 3 areas. Its only ever goin to be for grazing. It has open drains in it. I was goin to fence along one side of those drains. But reading through this tread I'm half thinking about planting a hedge to split it up. My ould fella thinks I'm mad.

Madness is good for you, it keeps you sane

Muckit

Have a few of these trees growing along this particular ditch. Can anyone positively identify? They are kind of a greyish green. Thanks

Kovu

Willow, I think.

Birdnuts

Muckit wrote: »

Have a few of these trees growing along this particular ditch. Can anyone positively identify? They are kind of a greyish green. Thanks

Looks like White Willow - and a nice specimen too

Thargor

How have I never heard of Red Hawthorn? There musnt be any down Galway direction, its all White. I want to plant a few now, you'd think they'd be more popular with gardeners aswell, stunning looking plant.

Kovu

Oh just when you mention that Thargor, I was walking down past our mass rock and noticed a couple of hawthorn trees just coming into bloom behind it. A mix of pagan and christian practices!

greysides

The red variety of Hawthorn is sold commercially as 'Paul's Scarlet'. It's very red indeed, maybe a lot more than the red varieties of the wild ones.

Username John

There seems to be a lot more red hawthorn about this year than others - can climate or external factors affect the colour of the flowers somehow?

Sleeper12

pedigree 6 wrote:

If boards has crashed you can blame it on me. I'd say the best thing if anyone wants to reply do a new post underneath don't reply to this one. I'm a dairy farmer and as I say got busy with the camera this morning.

Not a single photo of a cow.

pedigree 6

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Not a single photo of a cow.

They're out in the field.
Not on the ditch.:D

greysides

greysides wrote: »

The red variety of Hawthorn is sold commercially as 'Paul's Scarlet'. It's very red indeed, maybe a lot more than the red varieties of the wild ones.

greysides

A red form of wild Hawthorn.