Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

10 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 59

G

OODnewsabouttheparlous
stateof theenvironmentis as
rareasa snowdropin summer,
butthereis hopethatglobal
warmingcanbereversedbydoing
whatgardenershavedonesince the
yeardot:plantingtrees.
A fewyearsago,a horticultural
heroof mine,professorTomCrowther,
calculatedthenumberof treesonthe
planet(seethepanelopposite),and
nowthatdatahasbeenusedtowork
outthetotalnumberneededtoliterally
savetheplanet– a spade-bending
onetrillionextratrees!
Thisnumberis big,butit represents
justonethirdof thetreeslostsince
civilisationbegan.Togivesomescale
tothebenefit,onetrilliontreeshavethe
potentialtolockawayfivetimesthe
amountof carbonreleasedbythetwo
mostpollutingindustriesputtogether:
refrigerationandmeatproduction.
Whilemostof theheavylifting–
or rather, digging – is proposed for the

Areyoufrustratedbythefatethat’sbefallentheplanet?

We can all save the world, saysToby– onetreeat a time

“Thereare trees

evenforpostage

stamp plots”

biggestcountries(Canada,Russia,

BrazilandtheUSA),Britainwillplayits

partwiththeuplandsof theSouthWest,

WalesandtheNorthWestreforested

orplantedwitha patchwork of trees

overgrazinganimals.

NowI knowwhatyou’rethinking:

“ButI haven’tsignedthedeedsonthat

10,000-hectareCotswoldsestate,so

I can’thelpjustyet!”Evenso,weallhave

ourparttoplay.Simplybycherishing

treesthatalreadyexistand,wherespace

allows,plantingmorewill all contribute

to the greater good.

Taking a bird’s eye view...

Inmostgardensspaceis tight,but

thereareexcellentsmalltreeseven

forpostagestampplots.Evergreen

strawberrytrees(arbutus)areeasyon

acidsoils,whilerowans,ornamental

cherries,applesandAmelanchier

blossomin spring,bearfruitin summer

andtintwithautumncolour.

I havejustplanteda Himalayanbirch

alongtheboundaryfencein mygarden,

whichhasa gobletshape;it growsup

andoverthefenceline,leavingspace

at groundlevelforflowers.It alsohasan

extrapollution-bustingpartytrick:aswell

asabsorbingcarbonin theatmosphere,

minutehairsontheleavesmopup

exhaustfumes,makingthistreeideal

forfrontgardensonbusyroads.

Onetreealonewon’tsavethe planet

• but a lot of a little is a lot.

AStreesgrow,theyremovethecarbon

thatcontributestothewarmingof the

planet,lockingit awayin theirtrunks

androots,andprovidehabitswhere

wildlifecanthrive.Birdsandinsects

enjoythediversityof ourgardens,as

everyplantingschemeoneverystreet

is different,withsomethingin flower

through 12 monthsof theyear.

Theyalsolikethatourgardens

containplantsof differentages,with

youngertreescarryingblossomand

berries,andoldertreesproviding

deadwoodthatsupportsa feastof

insects for thebirds. Our feathered

All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited

TheWestHimalayanbirch

(Betulautilisvar.jacquemontii)

is a brilliant pollution-buster

Meandmymalus:even

in smallspaces,wecan

growtreestomakethe

world a better place

Evergreenstrawberrytrees(Arbutusunedo) are

easy on acid soils and ideal for tiny spaces

Toby Buckland

To b y’s top trivia

Therearecurrentlyjustoverthree

trilliontreesontheplanet– that’s

3,000,000,000,040,tobeprecise.

In theUK,weneedtoplantthree

billiontreesby2050,whichworks

outas 90 milliontreesa yearto

cancel out a decade of emissions. 

Toby Buckland

Chaffinch(Fringillacoelebs)

enjoying a cherry tree in spring

friendscanbereluctanttocolonise

new-buildestates,andthelack of

mature treesexplains why.

Save the world with Japanese maples