On Sun, 5 Mar 2006 17:32:42 +0000, Malcolm
wrote:


In article , John Smith
writes

"BAC" wrote in message
.. .

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi

I am looking into the options for a 1/4 acre plot of grassed land that
I own at the rear of my garden. One possibility is to "cultivate" it
into a small wood, and this really appeals to me.

Unfortunately, I'm totally ignorant on most things botanical....so I'm
in need of some guidance as to how I might get started. My objectives
are

i. relatively low cost & maintenance; i don't have much spare time
outside weekends
ii. attract wildlife
iii. a variety of trees, with emphasis on quick growing species (NOT
the dreaded leylandi !)
iv. maintain a small grassed area in the middle where one could
"escape" with a good book
v. encourage wild flowers to grow .

As I say, I'm pretty much clueless on this and am looking for advice on
how I might get started. Any good web links or organsiations would be
usuful.


Don't forget you may need planning permission if you intend to convert,
say,
agricultural pasture land into a garden, even if it's a wildlife garden.

If you had plenty of time, you could just leave the grassland to its own
devices - excluding any grazing domestic stock - and it probably wouldn't
stay grassland for long.

You'd just need to mow your central area to maintain it as a clearing, and
a
path to it. Mind you, the land probably wouldn't look very pretty, and
you'd
be trusting to luck as to what species were to come out on top,
eventually.

Why do you need planning permission to plant trees on grassland? And he may
even get a grant to do so. He didn't say converting to a garden at all!

I think the minimum area eligible for planting grants is 0.25 ha, rather
than 0.25 acres.


Trust you to know about the grant sucking thresholds :-(


Angus Macmillan
www.roots-of-blood.org.uk
www.killhunting.org
www.con-servation.org.uk