Village Couple fork out on an 'instant woodland'

Tamworth Herald 2011.

By Helen Machin.

Forget camellias, begonias and rhodedendrons - a 30 foot, six tonne Beech tree was among the newly planted items in the garden of one Harlaston couple.

Keith and Liz Ridgway moved to the village in January 2010 and decided that a garden centre wasn't likely to provide exactly what they wanted - an 'instant' wood of their own.

So, after doing some research, the couple decided that mature trees would help create a semi-mature wood and a wildlife habitat in part of their two acres of land.

Their ambitious plans were soon set in motion.

Fifty mature trees were imported and a team of men worked on the project for four days.

This was no garden spade and fork project though - these gardeners called in diggers, cranes and flatbed lorries.

Once the mammoth plot was completed, 62-year-old Keith, a retired managing director, spent a busy time last summer watering all of the trees.

"I have to water each one for 15 minutes every week - about 20 hours a week, but it's all paid off. They are all thriving."

Liz (57), who lists gardening as her hobby, said: "We have basically converted a third of a field into woodland. We wanted to plant woodland, but not just for prosperity, we wanted to see it grown - and let's face it, we're not in our 30s anymore! These trees will have taken up to 30 to 40 years to grow to the size they are now."

Keith has also established a kitchen garden with young fruit trees, soft fruit, root vegetables and brassicas. "We had to shift a dozen skips of rubble last year as our garden is on the site of very old farm buildings," he said.