The row of 6 young Himalayan silver birch trees (Betula Utilis Jacquemontii Snow Queen) was planted three years ago and they are starting to grow more strongly now. They are single stemmed trees which are just starting to turn silver-white and were planted to form a privacy screen between the walled garden and the neighbouring properties. Their leaves create a lovely dappled light screen and the leaves just disappear when they fall in the autumn. The trees are about seven ft high now but still wispy, and need the lower branches removing when the tree is dormant during the winter months. This will help to encourage new branch growth at the top.

This year I used the lower branches to make an Easter wreath at my weekly flower school class. Birch branches are particularly flexible and combined with last year’s dried flowers it made a lovely rustic wreath for the front door. I love using the flowers, foliage and cuttings from the garden in a creative way.

You can find the details of how to make a birch twig wreath in the Flower School blog.