Peter Dowdall: Why birch trees signify new beginnings 

These hardy species are linked to regeneration and play a vital role in supporting biodiversity

In Celtic culture, the birch tree represented new beginnings and regeneration. During the Celtic festival of Samhain, birch branches were sometimes used to drive out the old year's spirits, making way for the new. File picture

I remember when I first really noticed birch trees. It was when I was in college over in the UK. The countryside around where I was, in Surrey, England, is very similar to that of here but at the same time different. The ditches and hedgerows are equally diverse and full of life but I think that it is the colour that is different — there you will find more browns and yellows during the autumn than here in Ireland where we see more coppers and oranges.

The yellow colour is primarily provided by birch trees, which positively litter the roadsides over there in the same way that perhaps ash and hawthorn do here.