Calling all fun Tree Surgeons : Ash tree needs to weep

Voluntary Support

ash tree in need of a graftAnyone good at grafting weeping ash stock onto standard ash at 15 feet above ground level?

I’ve been looking around and the theory of grafting ‘tree on tree’ seems fine enough but I want the established tree to survive the ‘surgery’ and could therefore do with some help from someone that has done it all before (successfully!)

In the spirit of the WWOOF organisation, have a working weekend away from it all and teach us Ash grafting and we’ll host, you work with us, no money changes hands, and together we make an Ash weep – or at least set it on a new growth path. Interested? Contact us!

Background information

There are two ash trees near ‘Pennyworth Well’, one is ancient and now more ‘trunk and branches’ than ‘leaves’, and in late summer, the weight of seeds is often heavy enough to break off the largest branches. The other is about 12 years old but if a graft of Weeping ash stock is put on it, it will stop a lot of its vertical growth and not interrupt other trees and grow away from a close power line.

The local Church has a fine Weeping ash and I’m sure I can ask the gardener there to let us have a few fresh cuttings for the grafts.

And for those that have not discovered it yet, take a look at www.wwoof.org.uk

~~~~~~~~~~ <+))))))))>< ~~~ waves from Grant

Posted by Grant.



HoBB Token Pole

Personal Comments

ItIMAGENAMEHERE was certainly not designed as a Totem Pole. It is however, a very useful sign that serves as a warning to large turning vehicles at the entrance to the HoBB.

It was initially designed to protect a support wire for a nearby post but as it is the first ‘symbol’ you see on approaching the HoBB, it has evolved into a seasonal ‘totem pole’ and is often adorned with decorative dried plants and seeds in Autumn.

It is a welcoming post for visitors – “back to the days when Ancient signs for villages were in the form of landmarks and road signs hadn’t been invented!”

Most UK village signs are now simply ‘traffic signs’ but I have noticed a growing movement to emblazon these flat sterile indicators with rich plantings. One village towards the west coast had planted out a rowing boat alongside their entrance sign and I have seen wheelbarrows of flowers
and of course, the half barrel!

These villagers are not specifically entering some ‘Village in Bloom’ scheme, they are however being proud to be ‘there’, they are putting an individual stamp on the map and saying ‘Welcome’.

I’ll see if I can remember to take some local pictures and put them up on a HoBBlog for you, and if you see any you think should be shared with a far greater world than those that ‘pass-by’ , then take a picture and let us know.

~~~~~~~~~~ <+))))))))>< ~~~ waves from Grant

Posted by Grant.