"ant" wrote in message
...
David Hare-Scott wrote:
I hope that I am still
sparking when I am as old as Peter Cundle.

Eat more compost! Breakfast of champions.


About 4 acres of grass that I would like to be covered with trees and
shrubs ... its going to take years.

Try 16 acres of stony windswept ex sheep farm. 4 is a fair bit too...
we've
kind of pulled back to just the acres up top, around the house. More
manageable. Just keep planting trees, and you'll see the change.


--
ant



Well the 4 acres is just the bit close to the house, there is 50 all up.
The Big Plan is to 'pull back' ah, um, deal with the 12 acres of the house
paddock and leave the rest agisted to a neighbour for 5 years at least. Of
the 12 we want to leave much of it as pasture for the horses but not as a
single open space. We will re-vegetate, provide shade and shelter for all
creatures great and small, not to mention a wind break (or is that break
wind?), vege garden, orchard, herb garden, aromatic (ie smell garden),
ornamentals. At least the orchard and veges are going, only 97 to go.

Just keep planting trees. A good suggestion. We planted 250 to start,
despite all research and advice from "experts" including the Forestry
Nursery regarding suitable species, about 100 died the first winter (having
established well) from frost. Grrrr don't you just love experts. We don't
buy 50 or 75 of anything now unless in a test planting 4 out of 5 have
survived a year. The wind break area where the testees get planted is going
to be diverse, hetrogenous and just plain random.

David