Hello,
I've recently bought an old farm with about 11 acres in 2 paddocks. Apart from some great trees around the edges (and some not so great!) there is no woodland to speak of (one of the hedges is about 5 metres thick in places).
Anyway, after some discussion with the Woodland Trust, I was approved for a grant under the MOREwoods scheme (https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/help-and-support/) and eventually settled on an order of 1500 trees, of 14 native species. We're on sand here but there is a spring in the paddock where I'm doing most of the planting so it's pretty boggy all year round (someone told me once that you can get days in the UK when it doesn't rain ). I'm going for the following:
Alder (350)
Hazel (200)
Beech (125)
Hawthorn (125)
Oak (125)
Sweet chestnut (0 - had originally asked for some but they're out of stock!)
Wild cherry (125)
Field maple (100)
Aspen (50)
Blackthorn (50)
Crab apple (50)
Hornbeam (75)
Spindle (50)
Whitebeam (50)
Scots pine (25)
I'm hoping to create some pockets of woodland, mainly around the edges, that will support wildlife (including game cover), provide colour, soak up some water and eventually provide me with a few logs from the faster growing species. In addition to the trees I'm paying for, I've also planted a few hundred willows of different species, with the view of doing some weaving. I might also be planting some ash (which they won't provide due to the dieback) and some sycamore (which isn't apparently native, even though sweet chestnut, which was introduced by the Romans, is...). I'd also like pear because of the blossom and fondness for damp ground. Deliberately avoided birch because they rot so readily and we have plenty around the place so I'd imagine they'll self seed. Most of the species I've selected have counterparts established nearby. Robinia wasn't an option but having read up about on here, I think I'll look into it.
Planning on planting the alder at 6' spacings but with a few other species mixed in on the wetter parts. The shrubs and thorns will go along the boundaries or fill gaps in existing hedgerows and I'll dot the odd standard here and there at 3m spacings or thereabouts for the grandchildren to worry about!
They recommend spraying with glyphosate but I didn't want to, partly because of the cost but partly because all the water that runs off our land goes directly into a neighbour's lake. I've bought a load of weed matting which is going to be a pain to install but should hopefully give the trees a decent head start!
Should I worry about brambles encroaching or will they help to protect the trees (in addition to the tubes/spirals)?
I'm sort of dreading it as I know it will look pretty awful for a few years and it's an expensive way of providing firewood but more woodland has got to be a good thing and I'm very jealous of another neighbour's woodland next door.