h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In Spotlight 113 (A88000913 ) I put a plan for tree-planting in the mouth of Gaia Philpin, who is what some would call a "tree-hugger."

You may wish to read her plan, as it touches on community pride and appreciation for nature in any place on the planet -- except, as Willem has noted, in places like South Africa where the trees that get planted are just not appropriate for the places they are planted.

I confess to being besotted with trees, except for the ones that have huge branches which might fall on me or on my house .

I have planted dozens of trees, including a few in my own yard. I would love it if most of them were around long after I am gone, but I have no control over that. All I can do is make the effort and hope for the best.

In any event, squirrels have planted acorns in places where I wish they hadn't. One oak grows under my porch, and I can't get rid of it I have seen just how touch oaks can be. I pity the person who lets them grow without considering the consequences. Yes, the trailer park I live in has a professional tree guy, who will make sure things go well.

I'm proud to have planted dwarf Albert spruces (or, a fellow volunteer did the actual planting, but I made the decision as to whether they were bought, and where they should go). I also planted a couple of eastern redcedars in my back yard. One survived, the other did not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_virginiana

I may not be alive to see how the surviving one turns out. oh, well.

I've planted red maples, silver maples, and pin oaks along the banks of the Charles River, which forms the boundary of the park. We were required to plant trees to replace some that were taken down. Isn't bureaucracy wonderful?

Anyway, if I have an alter ego in the Crepuscular Meadows saga, it is Gaia Philpin, the tree-hugger and tree-whisperer. Bless her!

Paul, I love trees and I am guided by the Woodland Trust on what trees are most beneficial to wildlife. I have four mature deciduous trees and several deciduous and evergreen saplings and shrubs. I have been unable to attract bats and owls to my garden, even with bat box and owl nesting box. Trees are very beneficial to our mental and physical health.

Rosa, most of your species would probably be different from what we have in America, but unlike America, the British isles were stripped of many of the trees they once had during the Industrial revolution. So it's good that you are increasing the tree cover.

9Actually, America was also stripped of trees, but the replacement of horses with petroleum-fueled cars gave the trees a chance to grow back, which they did with a vengeance).

I've read that Scotland's powers-that-be would like to plant more trees in that country, but the tourist industry is unhappy. People come to Scotland to enjoy the view of the hills across the heather. I don't know if planting trees on the hills would be allowed.

Scottish Pine is a fine species that is popular for Christmas trees in America.

May I just add that it is always best to use trees that are native to one's own part of the world.

I totally agree. I planted an American Plum tree, but I think it will be a few years before it bears fruit.

My neighbor likes to plant things like a $400.oo Japanese Maple, and then grieves because it doesn't survive. He also had a Scotts Pine, which he wanted someone to transplant elsewhere because it was rubbing against his shed.

But do I care if petunias and Marigolds and most irises are not native to America? No. They are beautiful and they smell nice, and I have plenty of native plants.

In Thurrock, I have seen the staghorn sumac tree in people's gardens and would like to know what wildlife benefits it has when grown in their native setting.

I myself will be planting crocus, bluebells, snowdrop bulbs when I receive them. I am very fond of crocuses as they are pretty, I do not think that they are native to the UK. I will also be getting a Scots pine tree and will be using it as a wildlife Christmas tree where I will use bird food as decoration.

No, matter what I have done to my garden, there is hardly any sign of any insects in my back garden.

People argue the native/nonnative species issue from time to time. Well, the two food crops that produce the most calories per unit of land are corn and potatoes, both of them unknown to Eurasia and Africa before Columbus began his voyages.

Are they invasive in the same sense as something like Japanese knotweed? No. Corn can't escape into the wild an take over other areas. Cultivated potatoes don't seem to get mentioned much. Wild potatoes, which are related, grow in the wild uin 16 countries:
http://blueplanetbiomes.org/potato.php#:~:text=Most%20of%20the%20wild%20potato,the%20wild%20potatoes%20are%20found.

neither type is known to escape into the ild
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/232695813_Wild_and_Cultivated_Potato_Solanum_sect_Petota_Escaped_and_Persistent_Outside_of_its_Natural_Range