How to manage and make the most of your woodland
How to manage and make the most of your woodland
If you are lucky enough to have a piece of woodland all to yourself, why not make the most of it? In this article we’re looking at ways to manage and enjoy wooded areas.
In an ideal world, how would you make more of your little piece of woodland? Would you like to see and hear more wildlife in there? Be able to use it for relaxation? Could it be a play area for children or would you like it to be more productive. Here’s how Keep It Green can help.
Clear away dead wood
The first step to making your woodland into a useable space is to clear away old wood and debris. Woodland is quite a delicate ecosystem and a small amount of rotting wood is great for mini beasts and the creatures that feed on them. However, a tidy log pile is far less intrusive than massive fallen trunks.
Next, any diseased trees and invasive shrubs need to be removed. Any suitable wood can be sawn up, seasoned and used as fuel. Alternatively we can shred it to make mulch which is perfect for paths.
Once you have healthy stock, you can step back and take a good look at your space and how to use it.
Here are some suggestions
Create a woodland garden with a variety of plants to create interest for you and for the wildlife
Fence off an area to create a shaded paddock for pets.
Build tree houses and add play equipment for young adventurers
Manage the woodland exclusively for wildlife
Have your own woodland retreat
Go foraging for food
Creating a woodland garden
If you would like to install paths and maybe create a woodland garden, it’s important that new plants have enough sunlight. Woodland clearance can be extended to “raising the canopy”. In other words, taking some of the lower branches off selected trees.
Why not include some sort of structure – perhaps a pergola or a studio so that you can shelter from the weather and enjoy the ambience all year round.
I’s well worth taking time to visit other woodland gardens for inspiration. The Fairhaven Woodland Garden in Norfolk is an excellent example. The garden makes full use of the damp environment of the Norfolk Broads – your woodland may have a different soil type but still, you can get a feel for how features can be included.
A clearing in the wood is home to a grassy area for sitting, eating and entertaining. All weather paths have laid out to make the garden feel much bigger than it is. And of course they ensure that the garden can be used all year round.
Planting at ground level is very simple – large swathes of shade loving plants that thrive in the conditions and therefore need very little maintenance. Spaces in the boundary hedge offer great views and vistas.
Closer to home, Leonardslee Gardens can provide plenty of inspirational ideas. https://www.leonardsleegardens.co.uk/gardens-lakes
Fencing your woodland
Depending on how you want to use your woodland, you may want to create some sort of boundary fence or hedge. Fencing can keep people and animals out – or it can keep them in.
Here’s an example of a small wood being used to house pet pigs. These two ladies (aka Spotty and Ginger) have done a fabulous job of clearing the ground. They also cope better in hot weather and are less prone to sunburn.
For horses and ponies the shelter is similarly beneficial. Provided of course that any vegetation is suitable for them to eat. Woodland grasses are less nutritious than pasture grass but for a small pony who is prone to laminitis that can be an advantage.
No space is wasted in this 3 acre wood. A second pig pen is currently vacant. The owner uses it for training her dogs. There’s also a tree house for the younger members of the family.
Adapting woodland for young adventurers
If you’ve been watching TV Footage of 2019’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show you will probably have spotted the woodland garden co-designed by the Duchess of Cambridge. Youngsters will play happily for hours in a small wood and they learn so much about materials, wildlife, ecosystems and their own bodies. Woodland play can scrape knees and rip clothes but it certainly builds confidence.
Obviously safety is one concern. Making sure that there are no poisonous plants in the area and that children know not to snack on anything they don’t recognise. But honestly, if you let a child – or children build a den, have a picnic, climb, dig, and use their imaginations they will develop skills to help them in all walks of life.
Why install a seat and shelter for yourself so that you can be comfortable while they play.
Managing woodland for wildlife
There are a great many articles published on managing woodland for wildlife. In short, if a woodland is suitable for creatures, they will find it.
You can help by ensuring a good mix of plant species of all different heights. So you have your tree canopy, then shrubby plants and finally lower growing vegetation. If your woodland is overgrown, there’ll be some clearing to do so that there’s enough daylight for new plants.
Opt for native species of plants if you can
Include food plants for lots of different creatures. Leaves, fruits, nuts and seeds. And plenty of space for insects. We’ve mentioned log piles, how about some nest boxes for birds and bats?
The productive woodland garden
For folks who like to grow their own food, a small woodland offers several options. You could establish some fruit and nut trees on the periphery. At the shrub level, gooseberries do well in woodland, as do certain varieties of raspberries. And at ground level, Ramsoms (or wild garlic) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_ursinum loves damp woodland and can be used in cooking but nothing is sweeter or more delicious than little alpine strawberries. IF you can get to them before the wildlife!
I believe that it’s also possible to buy truffle spores. But before you start adding up the potential profits, bear in mind that truffles are incredibly fussy about their growing conditions. Your wood may not be quite what they want. More information here https://plantationsystems.com/partnership/
What will you do with your woodland?
Don’t let your woodland space go to waste. Keep it Green are here to help you clear away dead wood, create paths, plant new trees, shrubs and edibles, install fencing and build that lovely little retreat. Why not call us for a chat and unleash the potential of that underused part of your grounds.