If you don’t have a big enough garden to plant a wood or a forest then why not consider a single fruit tree such as a dwarf or semi-dwarf apple tree? They don’t grow too big, are easy to maintain and there are multiple benefits to biodiversity. Plus, there is another big bonus, in the autumn; you get to eat the fruit!
Apple tree ecosystem
Also, fruit trees in spring produce blossom, which not only looks lovely, it also enables bees and other insects to thrive. Apples need the help of pollinators to make fruit and over 25 different insect species can be involved in the process. Apple trees also help a whole ecosystem of wildlife where they grow. More than 2,000 species of arthropod (insects and spiders etc.) have been found in British apple orchards including earwigs. These can be a vital part of the apple tree ecosystem, helping to reduce pests. They’re really beneficial. They eat aphids, coddling moths and all sorts. If you find them on your tree, be thankful! Because of this abundance of insects, some wanted (and yes, some perhaps unwanted) the tree supports a wide complex ecosystem and if you let a few apples drop to the floor, they’ll provide food for small mammals like hedgehogs and voles and offer a late sugar boost for butterflies and other insects.
Trees absorb carbon from the air and release oxygen and if you plant a tree in the ground, the deep roots will also help hold soil, reduce erosion, and reduce flooding. Imagine the environmental benefits if, instead of all those paved yards and tarmac we had a few more apple trees. Also, all those boring, plain green lawns would look so much more interesting with a few apple trees growing on them.
Apple tree leaves
In the summer, you can enjoy the shade and colours of the leaf canopy and in winter the tree will make interesting shapes with its branches, is a useful winter home to insects and makes a good place to hang a bird feeder. When the leaves fall in autumn, one of the simplest and most useful things to do with fallen leaves is to make a pile in an unused area of your garden for wildlife. This warm, safe space can provide crucial shelter for a variety of species through winter, including caterpillars, ladybirds, toads and hedgehogs. This leaf litter is also important food for fungi and all kinds of insects from spiders to centipedes.
Another easy way to use an abundance of fallen leaves is to add them to your compost bin or heap. Moist leaves are a great brown material to combine with fresher green materials for homemade compost. Mixed together and turned once a month to let air in, you’ll have nutrient-rich compost for your garden in no time.
Or simply shred leaves and apply them straight to your beds and borders as mulch. Mulching is great for the garden, helping to protect plants from the elements, suppress weeds and retain soil moisture. Worms – a gardener’s best friend – thrive under mulch (but can also provide food for hungry birds). A natural mulch like fallen leaves will improve soils too, returning nutrients to the ground as they break down.
Gather the leaves and dead organic matter from your garden or outdoor space and arrange them in a pile – don’t worry if your pile looks rustic, as long as it is large enough to allow wildlife to burrow within the materials, animals will love it! If you have any logs or fallen branches, place these next to the leaf pile to provide additional shelter and security, and try to make sure it is located in a quiet corner of the garden where visitors can stay undisturbed throughout winter. If you mow over your fallen leaves to cut them up they can become worm food on a lawn.
You can also leave a few apples or apple peel for wildlife, but even if you juice all of your apples or press every one into cider, wildlife will appreciate the leftover pulp. You might also consider growing flowering climbers such as honeysuckle up apple trees for an extra wildlife habitat, pollen and nectar source. Then why not then plant a wild flower or spring bulb patch around the base of the tree and help nature thrive even more?
So enjoy your apple tree
Planting an apple tree may be just a small part in saving the planet but you also get to enjoy sharing your apple trees with wildlife and eating the apples you have grown!
The Royal Horticultural Society provides a few tips on growing and caring for your apple tree.
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