PUBLICATIONS

Issue 50 - Autumn 2009

EDITOR'S NOTE

I remember walking into a talk at Farmleigh where Thomas Packenham, author and television presenter on the subject of 'amazing trees', was speaking. Gradually it began to dawn on me that everyone in the room was one of THEM. You could tell by the slightly wild glint in their eyes, the fervid line of questioning, the hoary hands, the interesting hairdos (unbrushed locks with twigs in them); yes, without a doubt, these were tree people, my people, I felt quite emotional.

That is what trees and woodlands do to you, they can excite almost religious degrees of emotion; who can not but exalt at the majesty of mature oaks, or feel moved to happiness at the sight of sunlight illuminating the young lime green leaves of beech? If we do nothing else, as designers, we have a duty to plant as many trees as possible. As Helen Rock says at the beginning of her transcription of Oliver Schurmann's advice on how to go about planting a woodland, we all know that trees are a 'good thing'.

The gist of what is presented here on the subject of woodlands is very much at the 'How to' level and is applied to the kind of gardens that our readers are most likely to be involved in rather than large estates and arboreta. Thus we have advice on what to plant, how to select, and how to specify. On the last of these subjects, it is salutary that landscape contractor, Peter O Toole, finds that some landscape architects prepare specifications that are pretty meaningless.

You will be intrigued to discover that the experts in these pages give quite a variety of answers to the question of what to plant. Verney Naylor finds inspiration from woodlands as far flung as New Zealand and Canada. She does not flinch at the idea of mixing exotics with natives or at adding a few evergreens for contrast.

Oliver Schurmann is equally eclectic, having started his young woodland in Germany with an understorey of prairie plants, knowing full well that this will die off as the canopy develops. Being a plantsman, he is not in favour of birch because opportunities for underplanting are restricted by their roots.

John Murphy, on the other hand, (another true 'treeaholic') is very much the traditionalist, and in his choice of woodland trees plumps for the natives, including birch. Designer Jane McCorkhell takes things a step further, having grown a plantation entirely of birch to form a backdrop to her borders.

In the summer the GLDA were lucky enough to host Noel Kingsbury, the British author and nurseryman, at the Botanic Gardens where he gave a talk on foliage. He is most famous for promoting naturalistic borders but his slides included wonderful images of trees as well, forming screens, punctuation marks and backdrops and creating a sense of rhythm across the landscape.

As the Tree Council observe, Ireland has only 10% tree cover, two thirds down from the European average, which is one reason why they have organised a National Tree Week for next March (see News and Events). I hope this issue gives you ideas on how you can make your contribution.

Finally, can I add that in these hard times the GLDA are working to become the primary networking site for all who are involved in garden and landscape design - aspiring or established designers, contractors, suppliers and garden enthusiasts alike. We plan to continue organising workshops and garden visits and to introduce purely social events as well. To join costs just £35 a year, which is fantastic value, so please spread the word; we are also making special offers, as outlined on the last page, to those who introduce new Friends.

Sheena Vernon

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