During that first year my son and I planted a copse of trees on a gentle slope behind the house. According to an old map dated around 1810, there was a copse of trees here before so we decided to replace it. We planted aspen, alder, birch, hazel, elderberry, holly, hawthorn, wild cherry and field maple alongside the two remaining sycamore (one came down the first winter and kept us in wood for the fire for over 2 years). Now, in 2008 the woodland area is one of my favourite places. The wood is mature with a stepped area that leads down through a mass of ferns, geraniums, primroses, aquilegias, Jacobs ladder, dog rose, foxgloves, gunnera, and other native species during June. In Spring it is underplanted with bluebells, daffodils, primroses, wild garlic, forget-me-nots and ground elder!

We have made an area available to sit under the trees when it gets too hot (yes we do get hot weather!) and it is a favourite place for a lot of our visitors and us.  We have also erected a tee-pee in this area, made of willow taken from the area around the wildlife pond which was created during the second year of the garden.  A bust of Aphrodite also rests here snuggled in the hollow of the sycamore tree trunk that fell during the first year, surrounded by aconites, geraniums, foxgloves and purple bugle.