{"id":810,"date":"2025-04-27T20:49:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T20:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/home-ed-in-a-shed.blog\/?p=810"},"modified":"2025-04-27T20:49:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T20:49:37","slug":"a-few-more-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/home-ed-in-a-shed.blog\/?p=810","title":{"rendered":"A few more trees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hey Blog! I\u2019m back to continue tree-ting you to a post about trees!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birch is another broadleaf, with quite a soft wood. Compared to most trees, birches are quite young \u2013 an oak can live for a thousand years, a yew for two thousand or more, but a birch only lasts a little more than one hundred. They are quick colonisers to where trees have recently been allowed to grow, and have small, pointed green leaves. Two main species grow in Britain \u2013 Silver Birch and Downy Birch. Silver Birch is striking in a wood, with bright white bark that peels in sheets \u2013 excellent for fire lighting, a sort of \u2018paper\u2019 and (if you\u2019re very clever) mugs can be made of it. The leaves of the Silver variety are smoother, hairless. Downy Birch has hairy leaves and the bark does not peel in the same way. Associated with femininity, Birch has ties to marriage, birth and fertility rites \u2013 apparently!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elm is now quite rare. Dutch Elm Disease nearly wiped out most Elms in the country, but they are slowly recovering. Elm has crinkly leaves like hazel, with the defining feature being one side is longer than the other, so the leaf curves around at the base. Some Elms grow very straight, making them useful for tasks which require unknotted, uncurved straight stems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pine, or more specifically Scots Pine, is another conifer. It produces sticky, resinous sap which, over millennia, can form amber. With a slightly scaly bark, and small cones (which are brilliant missiles!), it grows very tall indeed and, as a softwood, is easily pliable for timber. Very easy to cut, carve and mark, but fast to grow, pine and similar conifers were widely planted by the Forestry Commission for timber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chestnut is not a wood I\u2019ve worked with \u2013 yet. Horse and Sweet Chestnut are similar, though not closely related; while the shape they grow is broadly the same, their leaves are different, with Sweet having a single leaf and Horse having multiple large leaflets on a single stalk. Sweet Chestnut nuts can be eaten, and are a popular Christmas treat. The trunk of a Sweet Chestnut grows in a spiral, curling upwards, so when you\u2019re near the tree they\u2019re easier to spot. The name suggests it is used in box- and chest-making \u2013 yet when I looked it up, it appears it is actually a heavily corrupted form of the place they were first identified. But I still think a chestnut chest would look wonderful, and work well! The main use for the Horse Chestnut is in the game of conkers, where players try to destroy the other\u2019s conker with their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walnut is another nut tree \u2013 and the nuts are very tasty! A dye can be made of Walnut, which was reputedly used as a disguise by local gent. Anthony Babington when he tried to extract Mary Queen of Scots from a nearby manor. No one knows if it is true \u2013 but it is certainly a good story!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plane is yet another broadleaf, which is common in cities for clearing the air, and has very flaky bark. I used the bark as a writing surface a few years ago, with a quill pen. The pen worked \u2013 the bark didn\u2019t very well. I would like to try working with Plane, to see what it looks like and how I can use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lime is another common tree in cities, like Plane trees. It has pale wood, and the bark peels off well. The bark was used in rope and net making before nylon, and lasts considerably longer than one might expect, if treated well. The leaves are broad, lime green, and rather sticky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blackthorn I know a bit better. The berries \u2013 sloes \u2013 can be made into sloe gin in the autumn, and according to my parents is the perfect thing for a snifter on a winter\u2019s night after I\u2019ve gone to bed! It is in some ways the counterpart of Hawthorn, which is known as Whitethorn; Blackthorn flowers before the leaves are out, as opposed to Hawthorn where the leaves come before the flowers. However, in other ways it is the same \u2013 they are both fairy trees, and good for deterring evil spirits! Like hawthorn, it is a twisty and often knotted wood, but I have not had much opportunity to practice with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aspen is next. It resembles Birch with rounded leaves, and a rustling noise is often heard above you when walking near one. It is this tendency to blow in the wind that gives rise to the saying \u201cquaking like an aspen leaf\u201d. However, in the past, it was considered one of the trees that stood at the gate to the world of the dead, and was made into shields to give warriors courage. There is not much aspen near me, and I haven\u2019t used any yet \u2013 maybe soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hornbeam comes from horn, meaning hard, and beam, a Saxon word for tree. It is indeed the hardest wood in Europe \u2013 and that means it has plenty of applications, all for structural or high-strength purposes. The Romans used it for chariot building. I don\u2019t know where to find one near me so I have to keep looking!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maple is the second last. Famous on the Canadian flag and for the delicious syrup it produces (oh for maple syrup and pancakes!), there are many Maple species. Field Maple is the most common in the UK; it looks a bit like sycamore and a bit like oak, but is a different tree. There is one at the top of the hill \u2013 it should be coming into leaf about now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Rowan, or Mountain Ash. This is a slender tree, which grows bright red berries in autumn, green leaves in the spring, and many have slightly silvery trunks. The leaves grow in a similar fashion to Ash, but are serrated on the edge; and they are quite tall \u2013 one I got as a seedling grew to almost as tall as I am in a year. A protective tree, they are also associated with the fairies, like Hawthorn, and guard the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best website I\u2019ve found for a tree guide is this: https:\/\/www.woodlandtrust.org.uk\/trees-woods-and-wildlife\/british-trees\/a-z-of-british-trees\/<\/a>. Please don\u2019t think I copied everything from them, even though there are a lot of crossovers \u2013 I only found the website after writing all this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you learn one lesson from this \u2013 DON\u2019T CUT DOWN YOUR TREES!!! Keep them, and if you need to trim them, use the wood wisely \u2013 and always plant another one \u2013 or better two \u2013 every time you are forced to take one out for reasons of your house\u2019s structural integrity. Trees and other plants provide the life on our planet, and they are an ecosystem in and of themselves. I am like the Lorax \u2013 I speak for the trees. And I say \u2013 love your trees!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey Blog! I\u2019m back to continue tree-ting you to a post about trees! Birch is another broadleaf, with quite a soft wood. Compared to most trees, birches are quite young \u2013 an oak can live for a thousand years, a yew for two thousand or more, but a birch only lasts a little more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home-ed-in-a-shed-2"],"yoast_head":"\nA few more trees - Home Ed in a Shed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A few more trees - Home Ed in a Shed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hey Blog! 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