Bog Myrtle & Peat

Having let off some steam about my most hated tree species (below), it’s worth mentioning that I have a new favourite tree species. I planted a wide selection of native trees in an experimental plot last spring to see what does well on the Chayne. Without a doubt, aspen has shown itself to be a fantastic species, and the amount the two dozen trees have grown in eighteen months is quite amazing. Some are now taller than I am, and there is something very pleasing about the papery rustle of the leaves in a breeze. They’re not a particularly substantial species, but the idea that they spread via suckers is quite encouraging and could mean that I’ll have quite a nice little stand in a few years.

I remain loyal to the black grouse staples of rowan and silver birch, but knowing that birds will feed on aspen buds during cold weather makes them a real candidate for being rolled out on a larger scale for next year’s proposed “new wood project”.

Despite silver birch being a totemic symbol of Galloway, there are no real birch stands on the Chayne. Many upland keepers find it insane that I’m deliberately planting birches on the Chayne, knowing how the “weed tree” creeps in as soon as your back is turned, but given that there are no birches in the vicinity, there are no seeds in the soil. Cordon off an area and willows and rowans soon start to show up, but no birches. Birch buds are really important for black grouse in the cold winter months, but the only food available for my birds in the snow is rank heather which sticks out over the drifts. Getting birch and aspen to establish themselves on the Chayne could be a real asset, although I may find that I regret it once they start to spread seed right across the hill. I suppose I’ll worry about that if and when it happens.

In the absence of deciduous scrubland, my black grouse stick like glue to the few stands of ash and horsechestnut trees throughout the winter, but avoid them like the plague as soon as they start to leaf up. I think it’s to do with their need to balance the security of cover with the vulnerability of not being able to see what’s lurking around the corner. Bare twigs and branches in January are a nice source of camouflage, but leafy boughs in July are as useful to predators as they are to prey. Small stands of low growing deciduous trees are what I’m aiming for, and it’s now just a matter of getting out there with a spade and getting them started.