In celebration of last week’s ‘National Tree Week’ and given that we are in amongst tree planting season, our director Kate has purchased a number of Spindleberry trees for The Sign Maker site this year. Tree planting is great for both the environment and for the wildlife, which is why we continue to invest into our local surroundings as a business.
Having spotted a gap in the hedgerow, Kate wanted to source a new type of tree to offer something new to our ongoing tree planting initiative. Spindleberry are fast growing British native trees. In autumn, their leaves turn a bright shade of red. These contrast with the fruit that the tree bares (the bright orange fruit seeds being their biggest giveaway)!
These attractive shrubs grow freely which is why they are the perfect choice for filling in the current gap in our hedgerow, but (perhaps most importantly) they have also been chosen for the benefit of the local wildlife. While this years visitors to the site won’t benefit from the trees we have planted, in a number of years, the Spindleberry trees will be a fantastic part of our growing wildlife haven.
Spindleberry trees are adored by a number of different wildlife species. Caterpillars, particularly of moth species, enjoy the leaves of the tree in addition to ladybirds and house sparrows. In season, the birds also benefits from the berries that come from the Spindleberry tree. While these berries are poisonous to humans, the birds are very grateful for them! The flowers that flourish are also a rich source of nectar and pollen. Spindleberry, therefore, are ideal for the bees that we love to welcome all year round. We hope that these trees will thrive on our site so that we can enjoy watching them grow for years to come.
Creating Your Own Wildlife Haven
While National Tree Week may be over, tree planting season is not! There is still plenty of time for you to invest in your own wildlife haven this winter with some of our handy top tips below. We’d love to know what you’re getting up to so do tag us across social media or comment below so that we can connect with you on all things wildlife!
- Plant something new! In a season that appears to dwindle when it comes to new life, it can be so fulfilling to plant up something new (no matter if you opt for veggies or choose to join us in a season of tree planting inspired by National Tree Week)! Creating your wildlife haven doesn’t have to be made up of grand acts for the environment. It is about making the most of the space that you have so that biodiverse landscapes can form garden to garden and site to site.
- Consider what you can give our visiting friends to munch on during the winter period. This is the most challenging season for many species of local wildlife. From the birds still exploring out and about, to our nocturnal and hibernating fury friends – leaving seeds, nuts and some chopped fresh produce can be a great support to them all.
- Allow your garden to grow so that there are spaces for animals to make their home. Leaves, twigs, grass and mossy areas can make a significant difference to the survival of local wildlife in some of the harshest conditions.
Bird Watching
We thought you would enjoy this short snippet of bird watching footage from a local feeder! These birds are just beautiful, and they are part of the reason why we will continue to make our home and site a wildlife haven. Bird watching can be a wonderfully mindful activity, and if you’re patient and quiet enough, you may just be lucky enough to get as close as we did!
Telephone: 01769 561355 | Email: sales@sign-maker.net | https://linktr.ee/thesignmaker