Turning over a new leaf

A major reason for planting the trees was to try and create a habitat for woodland plants and animals, writes Dick Warner

I HAVE a little piece of land in the Midlands and on part of it I have planted a small mixed woodland. I get a lot of pleasure from it, and so do a lot of wild birds, animals and insects.

My pleasure is probably greatest at this time of year. Because the woodland is mixed and most of the trees and shrubs in it are deciduous, the different species leaf out at different times in a succession that usually starts in late February with the elders and doesn’t finish until well into May when the ash trees finally break bud. I get great satisfaction in strolling along the paths in the wood in spring and monitoring this process.