Don't delay, plant a tree today!

Of all the decisions to make in a garden, the one I always think should not be put off is the question of planting trees.

Certainly the decision should be carefully considered, because the wrong tree in the wrong place can provide real headaches down the line.

But the right trees in the right places are such a winner for wildlife that you really will make a difference for nature by doing so.

And the problme is that every year spend dithering about whether to go ahead is another year lost.

There are certain things that seem to put people off from planting trees:

1. a feeling that it must be difficult and that you need green fingers
2. a sense that it is expensive
3. and a concern that they grow so slowly that you just won't get pleasure out of it.

So let's tackle those in turn.

1. In my experience, trees are one of the easiest of plants to grow. Put them in small and it is little more than digging a hole, plonking it in, maybe giving it a water in its first year, and that's about it.
2. Bare-rooted trees are incredibly cheap, and mean you don't have to lug great pots around. They must be planted in the dormant season, so there is still about six weeks to do it.

And for point 3, I thought I'd share some photos of some of my trees that I've planted over the past couple of years in my garden to give you a sense that actually some trees can reward you very, very quickly indeed, growing up at an incredible rate.

So here I am planting an Alder sapling in March 2016 in a rather damp part of the garden. I think it cost me about a fiver plus P&P.

I'd quite like it to attract Siskins and Redpolls one day. But it is easy to be downbeat and think that it will be 10 or 20 years before that is possible.

But here it is today, 2 February 2018, two growing seasons in.

I love the speed with which birches grow, too. Here's my big Silver Birch after three growing seasons.

I spent £20 on this one and bought one 1.5 m (5 foot) tall. It is now 5.4 m (18 foot) tall. (I measure them every year!).

It is not just height that gives you the sense they are developing quickly. Here are my little Silver Birches which I planted two years ago in a clump of three, which are already beginning to develop their gorgeous bark, and have had catkins and seeds.

So certainly think things through well, and don't plant a tree that will ultimately grow too big for its location, or will interfere with yours or neighbours foundations or underground services, or cast too much shade.

But there is a tree for every garden, and on our webpage I've included some ideas of possible trees for different sized gardens.

So get planting while there's still chance this season, and it will become a new and treasured friend in the garden, for you and for wildlife.