Misery loves company, so they say.
And as it turns out, so do trees.
When we first moved onto our property, we started planting trees without any real plan in mind. We simply wanted to get some of them in the ground, get them started, so that in a few years’ time we’d have some decent habitat around us. And four years on, it’s really starting to pay dividends. Better view. Better food for the wildlife. Better all round.
But what we’ve since realised, is that young trees seem to grow much better when they are surrounded by other young trees. A bit like when you are driving down the highway, and you go to overtake a slower car, only to have that driver speed up in competition with you. Okay, maybe that’s not the best analogy, but you get what I’m saying. One tree seems to egg the other tree on, causing it to grow more confidently.
In this case, it’s actually more about micro-climate. The grouping of trees, planted close together, somehow forms a little bubble of happiness that helps them get a good start in life. Like a security blanket. Cosy. Reassuring.
Of particular importance, is the planting of an understorey. The understorey is the layer of low growing shrubs, vines and grasses that fills up the space between the trees. It’s essential for a healthy habitat. For a number of reasons, including:
1. It helps stop the invasion of my old nemesis – weeds. (Do I need to go on again about those damned cobbler’s pegs? I think not.) The presence of the mid and lower storeys of native vegetation really does help with weed control, which means that you don’t have to spend every weekend whipper-snipping in between the trees. Leaves you more time to enjoy those million other chores that are on your list.
2. The understorey is where most of the animals live, eat or nest. Even my good friend lantana, while it’s not any kind of long-term solution, does at least give the bower-birds, finches, whip-birds and the like somewhere to hang out in relative safety. Understorey provides cover for them, so that they can move from place to place in their search for food.
3. The understorey helps to keep the ground moist during dry times – something we’ll have plenty of in coming years. By shading the ground, it slows evaporation of water from the soil, which is a good thing, especially when you have spent hours walking around with buckets, trying to keep your prize tree ferns alive. If you don’t want to live in a dust-bowl next summer, then planting is the way to go.
Have you seen the movie Avatar? In it, we learn that every tree on that planet is connected by a vast underground network, almost like a worldwide nervous system. Harm to one plant is felt and understood by every other plant – and indeed, every other living thing – on the planet.
It’s not just science fiction.
If you think you live apart and unaffected by what happens elsewhere in the world, you have some pretty hard lessons heading your way.
I read recently that 40 percent of native Australian forests have been removed in the last 200 years. I’ll paraphrase that for you.
Almost half the trees in Australia have been cut down since we colonised.
Half.
It’s predicted that three million hectares will be cleared on the east coast, within the next 15 years. Because, why stop at half? Scary.
Thankfully, 1600 new trees have been planted in the earth surrounding SeaCrow Studios, and I know that many other locals have been doing the same. It may sound inconsequential compared to what’s been and will be destroyed, but if we all do it, sometime soon the government might get on-board with the idea. Who knows?
