Sweet Chestnut

The sweet chestnut trees (there are a few in the hospital grounds) look particularly good at this time of year.

W and I both love trees, and frequently see specimens that we would love to be able to plant.  A couple of weeks ago we visited a local garden open event, and were able to walk around a nearby garden which has plenty of room for a woodland.  But we both felt that it was so big, the owners were clearly struggling to look after it, and it showed some signs of neglect. 

I fear our garden would be the same if we had any more land.  Plus of course, planting trees is a young person's game - we have no hope of living to see any of the trees we have planted come to maturity, and fear that anyone buying our house in a few years time may well cut many of them down.  Which would be sad.  If a family bought the house, they would probably fill in the pond, which would also be very sad.  But we cannot design our garden for anyone but ourselves, and for our present, not someone else's future.