Hazel leaves still hanging on

Hazel leaves can often hang on through to January or February in more western areas, often still staying green right through........

And again.......

Short break before Christmas?

How about an alternative to the 'rat race Christmas'? Comrie Croft Hostel, near Crieff, is offering a chill out time on the run up to Christmas and an opportunity to support charities at the same time. All the takings from bookings on 12 December will go towards their three chosen charities including Scottish Native Woods. Please support us and have some good fun at the same time. See http://www.comriecroft.com/ for more details.

Working Farm Woods

We're doing some work on a Farm Woods project for the Argyll & Bute Agriculture Forum just now. Here's one of the farmers involved in the project with some six year old ash and oak that he planted.

Growing Up With Trees - Stage One

Autumn is time to collect more tree seeds. This Holly has a lot of smooth leaves rather than the normal spikey leaves that deter browsing. Only the female Holly produces the well known red berries.

Growing Up With Trees - Stage One

The compost has to be not too moist or too dry. The squeeze test is the best way to find out.

holly berries

Holly is one of the characteristic species of Scotland's Atlantic rainforests. It survives under the canopy of the oak trees, and the green foliage becomes ever more striking as the other trees drop their leaves.

People's Postcode Trust

Fantastic News! The People's Postcode Trust are supporting our work at Flisk Wood in Fife. We will be repairing and laying paths and building bridges over the streams. This will enhance the Fife Coastal Path and Flisk is a beautiful wood to visit with its views over the Tay estuary.

Autumn in the Birks of Aberfeldy

Falls of Moness in autumn

Falls of Moness in summer

Small cow wheat

The Birks of Aberfeldy is an ancient woodland site and an SSSI. This flower, called small cow-wheat, is extremely rare in Britain, and the Birks is the second most important site. It requires the damp conditions provided by the falls.

VIDEO- The Falls of Moness

Robert Burns referred to the falls in the third verse of his famous poem, The Birks of Aberfeldy:

The braes ascend the lofty wa’s
The foaming stream deep roaring fa’s
O’erhung wi’ fragrant spreading shaws

-The Birks of Aberfeldy

"Shaws" are hawthorn bushes/ fruits.

Rabbie Burns.....deep in thought

Looking down the Moness Burn.......

Community Woodlands Association at the Hanging Tree

The Community Woodlands Association Annual Conference at Drumnadrochit included a site visit to The Cover, a woodland where Scottish Native Woods have been working to reduce the impact of Invasive Non Native Species such as Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam.

On the way to the wood we stopped to look at this old Sweet Chestnut, which is known as the Hanging Tree. Until 1747 Highland Lairds often had the power of "pit and gallows": the right pass judgement and to hang male and drown female wrong doers. In 1057 King Malcolm passed legislation requiring those who had this power to maintain a tree for the gallows and a pit of water for drownings. Hanging trees are still found around Scotland, whereas the pits seem to have disappeared.

Scots Pine Regeneration

There is a mixture of Scots Pine and larch regeneration here. The trees have been progressively thinned out to let in more light, and deer & rabbit numbers lowered to acheive this. This is a form of continuous cover forestry, known as femelschag.

And again......

Native pinewoods in the Forest of Birse

Autumn day in Glen Dochart

Horse Chestnut leaves

Horse chestnut, while widely planted and well loved, is not a native in Scotland.

Conkers....

Goat willow leaves

Willow in the stream

This bush is growing in the middle of the river Dochart

Oak leaves

All brown.......

Fresh hazel leaves....

Hazel leaves fading.......

All gone......

These birch trees have now all lost their leaves

Aspen by the River Lochay, Killin