Nuts for Christmas

Today we reached a milestone. After months of searching for the land, surveying the land and designing the biodiversity scheme, we finally planted something. Three things. Three standard English walnut trees.

I have long wanted to plant some walnut trees. Admittedly a fairly obscure desire, but there are worse vices. They are beautiful trees, provide nuts and maybe in a couple of hundred years’ time they might provide some fine furniture maker with some wonderful timber. For now, a few scattered trees break up the boring grass sward and begin to add some complexity and interest.

For our wedding, a couple of our oldest friends gave us two walnut trees which we planted at home. They didn’t survive beyond 8 years, finding themselves in the wrong place during a major home renovation project. Well, one of them was in the wrong place and had to make way, the other we planned to save. The footprint of the building was designed to avoid it. But an over-enthusiastic digger driver had it out when our backs were turned. So these three walnut trees feel like a bit of a compensation for that regrettable loss. More than 20 years later, we are growing walnuts again.

There will be a lot more planting to come. I have the February half-term off and there will be a few thousand hedgerow plants to put in, as well as some younger saplings for the wet woodland area. I am also looking forward to hiring a digger and getting the ponds dug. However, these walnuts will always be a bit special for being the first Abounded trees, because they are walnuts and because they were planted together. The best type of nuts at Christmas.