Follow that tree: July

Hard to believe that July is here and another tree post calls. And it’s raining.

I’ve been following a tree as part of a blog meme from over on Lucy Corrander’s blog since March.

June has been stunning. The weather has surpassed Junes of the past few years and everything is doing well. The strong sunny days have been interspersed with rain at night so most plants are thriving and that means the trees are too.

Trees are so important in The Netherlands. There are laws against cutting them down. Even if the tree is in your garden a permit is required before you can remove one and you may be expected to plant a replacement if felling is necessary. Equally if a tree surgeon hears of a tree in need of attention he is obliged to contact the owner.

Over the past eleven years if living in our house the thirty or so trees that line the avenue have had their ups and downs. Many of the senior specimens have been removed but in each case they’ve been replaced.

Ours is one of the largest remaining specimens. It’s still able to reach across the road to its compatriot, forming part of the arch that runs the length of this section of road. When the trees reach full leaf as they are doing now, to some extent the houses ‘disappear’ from view as you cycle along.