Let’s Plant Trees for Birds to Sing On
by Bruce Parry
The wonderful thing about Portsmouth and Southsea is that there are thousands and thousands of small gardens behind the terraces, indeed, quite sheltered walled gardens, some even sun traps. Can you imagine all of us going out to buy just one tree to plant, even in a tub or raised bed, small trees that we like, trees that the birds like, trees that will later produce flowers and fruit, well protected by sunny corners, perhaps Buddleia trees to attract butterflies and insects, leave them to grow unaided, or re-plant them in fancy pots.
It would be a great project for the children, dig in a bag of bonemeal, great for fruit trees, a deep hole where they could bury treasure underneath, old coins, a tin of knick-knacks, perhaps some marbles, a battered Dinky toy, a flat stone indelibly dated, a secret beneath the tree!
Go out into the woods and find a stout stick to guide this new arrival, support for the windy blow of winter as the new baby establishes itself. A mulberry, a cherry, a damson, a maple, a Christmas tree with roots, so many to choose, watch it grow, watch it help this vast city of busy stifled streets.
The sun and rain will do its work, that’s thousands of trees across a city scape as vast as Portsmouth and Southsea, be inspired, plant them in schools and wasteland, make raised beds with discarded pallets, lets plant trees for birds to sing on and bring in a new dawn.
Inspiration: This piece comes out of our urgent need to re-populate the species that are being eroded in city expansion and stifled streets. The planting of trees for birds and insects to thrive and oxygenate the air becomes an adventure for children to be involved in, in their own gardens, as part of city life.