The big apple tree needed a good prune:
Branches were growing into the shed and the fence, cluttering up the centre of the tree and pointing upwards. So, the bypass loppers came out today and off came a fair amount of wood.
I decided that rather than compost this material, I would make a mound and let it decompose in its own time, thereby leaving a home for bugs and other garden-friendly organisms.
When all is said and done, the mound does look a bit feeble but hopefully it’s robust enough not to blow away with the first gust of wind. It will be interesting to see, however, what transpires over time: nature in action.
There is lots of leaf litter from the trees and I am pleased that this year I don’t need to disturb it in the process of making a pond and raised bed, as I was doing this time last year. I felt so sad to unearth eggs and pupae then.
Growing out of chaos 
I’d probably tie it up. They do that in Richmond but on a massive scale of twig walls. That way bugs are protected on the inside and it also looks a bit more aesthetic 😀
Thank you for the suggestion – I will look out a bit of twine. Which Richmond do they do this in – the one near London or the one near Darlington?
London 😀
I see – thank you 😊
The timescale would be interesting.
Bits of pine seem to have decomposed after a year or two…
Hi Helen, I think the bugs will have a home for years from my experience with having our apple orchard.
Thank you, Karen. Do you miss your orchard?
I miss our beautiful home a lot but the orchard was a lot of work with three hundred trees to care for. In early spring, it was a lot of work up and down the big ladder to prune so many trees but later the orchard was beautiful when it was in bloom. ☺️ What I don’t miss is all the snow and ice we had to contend with during the winters.
I can imagine! Three hundred trees is certainly a lot of work and I wouldn’t fancy lots of ice and snow either 😊