We were asked to assess a woodland that suffered from storm damage recently to schedule tree works. There were lots of trees blown down and many ‘ hung up ‘ or caught in the act of falling in other trees and some leaning at precarious angles. Our inspection highlighted the most dangerous and so most urgent, assessing each trees condition and stability. It will be many months work to safely bring them all down and decide on those to leave as habitat, dead hedges or logged up.

Good time to mulch around your trees and shrubs, here we are using wood chip from winter pruning which will help retain water a d stop the soul drying out and release some nutrients into the soil

Great to see this shrub in full spring bloom , one of the shrubs we pruned last month now springing forth on the equinox

Had a phone call from someone wanting a slice of wood to display a wedding cake on, happened to be working in woodlands where the owner let me take a slice of this silver birch suitably rustic for a barn wedding.

Nice to see these weeping willows, Salix babylonica bursting into cascades of green in Bushey park. Have seen some other trees beginning to break their buds but these are the first I’ve seen in full flush.

It’s worth considering the effect climbers have on trees like roses or ivy. The climber often becomes difficult to manage from the ground and can if left unpruned begin to impact negatively on the trees ability to photosynthesis . Our job over the weekend was clearing two cedars consumed by a large climbing rose , most of the work was getting the rose out and beneath the tree had lots of dead branches and probably had a much larger sail area due to the huge rose plant growing in the crown.

It’s worth keeping an eye out for any fungi growing on or near your trees. Some fungi is benign whereas others indicate a possible problem. Certain’Bracket’ or shelf fungi can be the fruiting body of a fungus that may be rotting the heartwood of your trees leading to possible failure. Call a qualified arborist to have a look if you can’t identify fungus and there’s lots of resources online too.

From beginning of March to August its bird nesting season and a time we are particularly aware of our interaction with the natural world. At all times we are obliged by law to not disturb nesting birds or active nests of any species. Our pre-work estimates always include a wildlife assessment so we know we are working within the law and in harmony with our environment.

We’re off to sort out this large conifer, 1/3 of the tree came down in the last storm and landed in the neighbour’s garden , luckily no injuries and amazingly no damage to sheds or fences. We are going to reduce the remaining tree by 1/3 to reduce the sail area while we’re there, chip up the small stuff and offer the logs to the community

Had to look this one up, it over winters these bright red cherry like fruit, first buds beginning to break