copse opposite

cootambear

I have a very small copse (tiny wood) opposite my house. Are there any plants/shrubs/trees that would be worth me planting for a bonus harvest?

mazinmouse

Are you talking about planting in the copse? If so, does the copse belong to you? Just wondering!

knithryn

Oooooooooooh this takes me back to my planting plans when we were looking at buying a smallholding (went to auction, too expensive - 3x the estimate!)
I was going to plant...
Sloes
Elderberry
Damsons
Mountain Ash
Blackberries might be good too

I was aiming for natural native shrubs that would encourage wildlife as well as provide a potential harvest for wine making, jams etc.
Again... you own this copse?

cootambear

I dont own the copse I`m presuming its common land. I dont intent to cut down trees or anything but to plant things, surely some fascist wont come along and tell me thats not allowed?

squack

should be fine, just be stealthy when planting, pull dead leaves and detritus from the woodland floor around the base of the plants to hide the disturbed soil and remove any labels etc,and remember to water until the plants are well established

Valli

Oh

I thought it said

corpse

*puts on glasses*

squack

well theres a topical joke ...

in our neck of the woods they call a copse a spinney

ceridwen

Its something I might do myself - but the thing to remember is that anything you plant there becomes "communal property" as well - so its necessary to accept that anyone else wanting to pick food from ANY of the plants there is just as entitled to as you are (even if you paid for them in the first place). Its the ownership of the land that matters - not the plants on it.

There is the fact that someone else might have similar planting intentions to the copse - at which point you have to either make an amicable agreement with them - or accept that neither of you could plant anything there.

mazinmouse

and also to remember that if it is a piece of managed woodland, whoever is looking after the land might be surprised to come across your plantings and rip them out.

I think you need to establish who owns the copse first anyway. I'd be pretty peeved is someone just came along and started planting stuff on my land

Kay_Peel

I am very grateful to people like the OP - gardening guerrillas, I think they call them. They turn up at the dead of night in some waste-land, roadside, roundabout or plot of land and leave the place as they found it. The only way that you know you've been guerrilla'd is when the daffodils, bluebells and aquilegas appear from nowhere.

I do a bit myself.

When I go out walking, I take some seedheads from my garden and look for opportunities to sprinkle a few on some bare earth in a forlorn looking spot. I hope at least one seed will take and give another walker some small pleasure. I kept very quiet when the people at my golf course admired a cotoneaster horizontalis on the bank of a stream. I planted that small seedling many years ago and it now looks magnificent in autumn.

So let's hear it for the gardening guerrillas like the OP! :T

cootambear

Kay_Peel wrote: »

I am very grateful to people like the OP - gardening guerrillas, I think they call them. They turn up at the dead of night in some waste-land, roadside, roundabout or plot of land and leave the place as they found it. The only way that you know you've been guerrilla'd is when the daffodils, bluebells and aquilegas appear from nowhere.

I do a bit myself.

When I go out walking, I take some seedheads from my garden and look for opportunities to sprinkle a few on some bare earth in a forlorn looking spot. I hope at least one seed will take and give another walker some small pleasure. I kept very quiet when the people at my golf course admired a cotoneaster horizontalis on the bank of a stream. I planted that small seedling many years ago and it now looks magnificent in autumn.

So let's hear it for the gardening guerrillas like the OP! :T

I havent yet achieved urban guerilla status, but I`m thinking about it.:A
The seeds idea is good - anyone heard of the mythical jonny
appleseed? Re trees - Isnt it a shame that the local coucils dont seem to plant fruiting trees - maybe theyre afraid of accidents?