Peter Nyssen Plant 500 Trees

On a cool autumn day we were shown around the most beautiful, south facing field in the countryside north of Bath. These 9 acres of grass were full of flowers and bugs having been mowed for hay only once a year for the last 10 years or so.

Acting on our message

At Peter Nyssen we’ve always been keen on gardening but in the past few decades, the need to give a helping hand to the creatures with whom we share this green landscape, has become increasingly clear. We decided there and then, to purchase the land and plant trees. But not JUST trees. We want to create a wonderful mosaic of trees and grassland habitats that not only provide food and homes for creatures, but that produce food and support food production in the surrounding countryside.

Where to start? Plant the right trees!

Our plans are evolving but this year, after running some beautiful Tanmworth pigs through the field to ruffle the soil surface and provide additional, organic fertiliser, we planted around 500 trees. It took 4 weekends and an army of friends and enthusiastic volunteers digging, planting, wrapping and mulching in the cold and rain. But our wide wild mix of fruit, nut, nitrogen fixers and native English species, are now growing, mostly happily, around the northern field margins.

Early lessons in rewilding

We’ve used this year’s planting as an experiment to see what works best in our well drained, brashy, calcareous soil. Some are already thriving: this spring’s extreme rain fall has helped them establish. Some, sadly, have fallen foul of unwanted attention from local rabbits and deer. It’s interesting to see how the rabbits stay close to their warren and leave the trees planted further afield and how the deer prefer sweet chestnut! It’s all good experience for helping us decide how to continue our project in the coming years. Perhaps we’ll decide to protect the trees more or perhaps we’ll just plant a few extra for the animals to enjoy. Perhaps the trees will simply shrug off the damage and get on with growing, albeit in strange and wonderful shapes. We’re looking forward to finding out more in the autumn.