Good news is that the wildflowers are well-established, and most of the saplings coming on fine, if slowly. Planted 12 silver birch that have been planted out at the allotment for 2 years, so have well developed roots - the soil is thin, over a bed of rocks. John, a local farmworker stopped by, and suggested it wasn't the best site, as the local kids have a habit of burning the gorse - which explains the heavy growth of willow herb (fireweed). He says the farm has suffered from ash dieback, and offered to let me fill in at their plantation. He was also a fund of local information - on the stone circle nearby, on the geology and glaciation of the area, on the silver mines - and on ley lines. He has some great stories to tell!
The site at Broadwood is difficult to the point of being dangerous. Basically, it's an area which has been logged, but the slippery logs left higgledy-piggledy to rot, blocking the drainage and being covered by a mat of grass (to hide the gaps), brambles (to trip you up) and nettles (to add insult to injury). If I tell you I had 2 heavy falls, and on the first one I lost my spade for several minutes, you'll get the picture (it fell between 2 logs and disappeared from site into the bog!). One of these times I'll break an ankle, or a leg. It took 2 hours to plant 14 alders and 1 hawthorn, though I also checked the older saplings and removed any grass that was choking them. The good thing is that the trees don't seem to mind the harsh environment, though they're not growing very quickly. It's a battle site - I left scratched, bloodied and sore!
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