I note that Bristol City Council has planted more trees since 2009 (2855 trees) than in the previous 10 years combined (2439 trees).

I also hear that the new heavyweight bollards have arrived at the Bristol depot, so a maintenance crew should be installing in the next week or so. Officers have also asked them to reseat some of the other bollards on Picton Square which are a bit wobbly.

Montpelier has very narrow streets, with narrow pavements that are often parked on by cars, so there are very few spots where pavement trees are an option. We’re working with the council to plant those spots up, but they average £1500 each, as they need to be properly excavated and lined to prevent the tree roots disrupting underground pipes etc. We planted nearly 500 whips in what public space we could last winter, so the last viable planting space at the moment is gardens.

The advice we’ve had is to plant trees a maximum of 50m apart (they will be non-self fertile) and preferrably 30m, to assist pollination. We’ll give out a sheet on how to garden with pollinators in mind (90% of apple pollination is by bees), and may also give away something like lavender to help this (money dependent!). We’re aiming for apple, and the same species in each cluster, as a big part of the project is also about strengthening community links, so street juicing and cider festivals are a possibility.

I’ve put you on our mailing list, so keep us in touch with how you get on too!

Cheers,
Shiona

Are you planning on having the trees in gardens, or in the pavements (I started thinking about this because there’s a random plum tree in my street and I picked some plums this year, and no one else seemed to be doing the same)? Having pavement trees would mean that ownership problems could be avoided as and when residents move on – each tree could be ‘looked after’ by a nearby resident, bbut ownership would reside with the council. Have you got the council on board? I’m on the county council here, so I’ve a bit of an inside track on that.

Also, what trees? I’ve been thinking of obviously native fruit – apples, pears, cherries, plums, etc.. A variety means that people could sample several different fruits, but of course having several apple or pear trees gives you more opportunity for juice and cider/perry.

The pointer about insects and pollination isn’t one I’d thought of, thanks for that.

I know I’m not local, but if you have a mailing list for more info, could you include me, so I can use your expertise and resources to push this down here?

Cheers