There are more benefits to planting a tree than you may imagine.
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Trees help to clean the air we breathe. Through their leaves and bark, they absorb harmful pollutants and release clean oxygen for us to breathe. In urban environments, trees absorb pollutant gases like nitrogen oxides, ozone, and carbon monoxide, and sweep up particles like dust and smoke.
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Trees help cool the planet by sucking in and storing harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into their trunks, branches, and leaves — and releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere.
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Trees help reduce stress and anxiety, and allow us to reconnect with nature.
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A single tree can be home to hundreds of species of insect, fungi, moss, mammals, and plants.
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Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen to support a family of four.
By planting just one tree in your garden you can reap all these benefits and more. Willow trees are a native Irish tree. They can grow up to 6 foot in a single season making them a hardy and fast-growing tree. Willow is used in many home remedies from garden rooting hormone to medicine. It is also used in willow weaving. How cool would it be to grow and make your own picnic basket? You don’t have to have any gardening skills to maintain a willow tree. All you need is a small area to plant it and a shovel to dig the hole.
They are easily maintained by pruning in late autumn or early spring, however you can ditch the pruning and let the tree do its own thing either if you have the space. A tree provides shelter for birds and will help attract various wildlife into your garden. The willow tree produces flowers in early spring which is an amazing source of food for our pollinators. There is nothing more relaxing than the hum of a bee and the song of the birds when you are having your morning coffee. You can also make other uses of the tree such as using the whips (long straight branches) as supports for other plants in your garden. A larger willow tree can even provide enough whips to make an entire fence or even a garden structure. The list of benefits of these trees is endless. I have taken a number of cuttings of these trees and all going well, in 8 weeks they will be rooted and ready to give to you. Stay posted for more updates or ideas on the willow trees.
