Rowan tree

I love rowan, the birds love them too. My free trees from the council were tiny too Amy but free is free. In fact, I've just placed an order with a company online and if you spend over £40 you get 5 free trees - mine have just arrived.

Wow .. you've a lot more planting to do Dawn , what kind of trees did you get .. you will have an Arboritum to be proud of in a few years .. LOL...

That is tiny but I bet it will grow into a beauty. I had hoped to get a freebie when I was looking for my rowan but they all grow too big for my garden :(

That's a shame Gee , what a pity they don't do a miniture one .. just for you ..:o)

The free ones from the council were x2 walnut, 1 wild pear and 1 cherry plum. 2 per household but my mum had 2 too. The ones that I got free with my propagator and obelisk order were x2 rowen, x2 crab apples and 1 small leaved lime. Dont want to look a gift horse in the mouth but I've unpackaged them and none of them are labelled. Ha ha.

What a lovely selection Dawn , I bet you are pleased with the Walnuts .
It will be a surprise for you see which is which .... thats no help really is it as you do need to have some idea so that you know where to plants them , how much room to allow them etc. ........

they still had them at our GC yesterday, lots left for free but not sure it would grow to big for my garden, i do like rowan trees though

The rowan I bought has columnar growth, Sanbaz, so would fit in anywhere, but it wasn't free :)

Hi Amy, yes the walnuts are only about 18 inches high and they wont fruit according to the man for 35 years, lol but they are quite expensive to buy. Hmm, I'll set the others to give them plenty of room and see what happens. Gee, your rowan sounds great - they are so beautiful, especially when in berry.

thanx Gee will look up, ;o)

glad you got your new Rowan tree from the council Amy, any idea now of where you will plant it

Thanks Eileen , We haven't decided yet , we will decide at the weekend , I may take a damson tree out ,it's never done any good , I grew it from a pip ! I've had it 15 years and it's never had any fruit on it ........

I have damson trees Amy ..... I could send you some damsons next Autumn :-)

Have you Dawn .. that is so kind of you :o) that would be brilliant ... I have always wanted one and have been so disappointed that the one I grew from a pip has never done very well ... did you grow yours yourself ?

By the way Dawn I have a Walnut tree thats about 18" high , it's a baby one that I found growing in the garden it came from my walnut tree that died , the squirrels buried the walnut ....... :o)

Hi Amy, that's great news about the walnut tree :-) So the squirrels have repaid you even though they break into your fruit cage and steal from you. :-) Maybe you'll have walnuts in about 30 years then, lol.

I will put a reminder on and I will send you a box of damsons next year. No, I didnt set mine, they seeded or came under the fence from a neighbours garden that adjoins our woodland, they are quite big about 15 foot high. Not many on this year though for some reason. They make nice jam apparently.

Back again Amy .... maybe I could dig a sapling up for you, I'll take a look tomorrow :-)

Oh Dawn , don't go to any trouble you have enough to do especially before xmas , anytime later wil be lovely , thank you so much :o)

OK Amy :-))

My mum brought home one of these free trees - but we don't know what sort it is! Hopefully we will find out when it produces some leaves in spring - it's about the same size as yours :-)

what a good idea.......... hope it grows well..........

~we never had any free trees~what was that about?We have lots of Rowans seeding themselves locally however~ lots of small oblong leaves in and reddish berries much loved by the birds~a local builder in the North East used to plant a Rowan tree in every garden to ward off evil spirits~usually by the gate

The rowan's mythic roots go back to classical times. Greek mythology tells of how Hebe the goddess of youth, dispensed rejuvenating ambrosia to the gods from her magical chalice. When, through carelessness, she lost this cup to demons, the gods sent an eagle to recover the cup. The feathers and drops of blood which the eagle shed in the ensuing fight with the demons fell to earth, where each of them turned into a rowan tree. Hence the rowan derived the shape of its leaves from the eagle's feathers and the appearance of its berries from the droplets of blood.

The rowan is also prominent in Norse mythology as the tree from which the first woman was made, (the first man being made from the ash tree). It was said to have saved the life of the god Thor by bending over a fast flowing river in the Underworld in which Thor was being swept away, and helping him back to the shore. Rowan was furthermore the prescribed wood on which runes were inscribed to make rune staves.

In the British Isles the rowan has a long and still popular history in folklore as a tree which protects against witchcraft and enchantment. The physical characteristics of the tree may have contributed to its protective reputation, including the tiny five pointed star or pentagram on each berry opposite its stalk (the pentagram being an ancient protective symbol). The colour red was deemed to be the best protection against enchantment, and so the rowan's vibrant display of berries in autumn may have further contributed to its protective abilities, as suggested in the old rhyme: "Rowan tree and red thread / make the witches tine (meaning 'to lose') their speed". The rowan was also denoted as a tree of the Goddess or a Faerie tree by virtue (like the hawthorn and elder) of its white flowers.

There are several recurring themes of protection offered by the rowan. The tree itself was said to afford protection to the dwelling by which it grew, pieces of the tree were carried by people for personal protection from witchcraft, and sprigs or pieces of rowan were used to protect especially cows and their dairy produce from enchantment. Thus we find documented instances as late as the latter half of the twentieth century of people being warned against removing or damaging the rowan tree growing in their newly acquired garden in the Scottish Highlands and Ireland. On the Isle of Man crosses made from rowan twigs without the use of a knife were worn by people and fastened to cattle, or hung inside over the lintel on May Eve each year. From Scotland to Cornwall similar equal-armed crosses made from rowan twigs and bound with red thread were sewn into the lining of coats or carried in pockets. Other permutations of the use of rowan's protective abilities are many and widespread.~

Sorry i've been so long answering you Arlene !
Gosh .. what a lovely lot of information you have given me ..
Thats odd that not everybody had the chance to choose a free tree , It was national tree week ... .. our council and I thought all councils were giving them out also Sainsbury Home base joined in to give them away ... you had a choice of Hazel / Rowan / Silver Birch / Maple / I think there were one or two others ... .. ..
I already have one Rowan , I love the colour of the berries and the birds benefit from them as well ...
My son has been here since Christmas with his family .. he actually works for the council on the regeneration schemes in Preston .. he hadn't heard of it either , very odd ...
they might still have some left over at a Sainsbury Homebase if you are quick Arlene ......
By the way Arlene the Arnica cream has worked wonders for hubbys bruises ... :o) A Happy New Year to you and your famiy x

~ Hi Amy~good to know that hubby's bruises are doing so well~My son got almost the full weight of the car on his hand whilst doing some work on it and he put the cream on constantly~ it was surprising how quickly it took the bruising out and the stiffness gradually disappeared as well~fortunately that was his left hand as he draws with his right~the hospital were amazed at how quickly it healed!
Happy New Year Amy and I will check out Homebase tomorrow!Thank you!

I'm so pleased it was his left hand Arlene , I've been looking at the drawings he has done , I can't begin to think how he or you would feel if anything happened to spoil that amazing talent .. !!

Thanks for the compliment Amy~ he has led a charmed life in some respects~ in his pursuit of doing work on his cars he has put metal in his eyes, slashed his wrist and had so many cuts and bruises we keep a tube of Arnica in the cupboard!
~ we do try to get him to be careful but when he is busy he just wants the job done~ especially if it is freezing cold~!

Oh golly , maybe he should start to put Rowan twigs in his pockets to protect himself ... when your hands are freezing cold you don't realize how much you hurt until you start to thaw out and then it hits you ..... I was in our wood shed getting logs in before Christmas , a log fell from the top onto my finger ,it took a chunk out , I thought it had broken it , it was so painful when my hands warmed up .....