It's true what they say about children and how quickly they grow up. It was an expression that many Mums and Dads (including my own) said a lot when our little girl was born. At the time I refused to accept it, even dismissed it when people spoke about it. Surely this tiny bundle couldn't grow up as fast as people said...could she? Fast forward five years and, yes, they do grow up. ALARMINGLY quickly!
Just before our little girl came along, we had a holiday in the Peak District with friends. An area I knew well and had called home for many years. It was Autumn time and all the beautiful Oak trees surrounding Ladybower Reservoir had shed their acorns. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love trees. We decided to collect some to plant and grow at home. Soon after I fell pregnant with our little girl, all the acorns we had planted started to sprout - over 30 of them! Over the next four years, we tended to them and gave some of them to friends and family to celebrate naming days, weddings and important Birthdays. They are now spread across the UK as far as the Isle of Wight. But we still had not planted our own group of oak saplings.
After a recent PR photo shoot for the 2017 Braw Lad and Braw Lass in Galashiels, I met James Pringle of Torwoodlee Estate. After chatting to him for a little while he explained how they were looking to replant much of the Torwoodlee Tower landscape. There was something very special about Torwoodlee that felt almost magical: Nestled in a woodland elevated above the A72, yet it has a feeling of being a million miles from anywhere. I felt captivated by it's history. So I asked James if he wanted any of our saplings - It felt right for them to be planted there. I explained the history behind our Oak's and James said he would be delighted to accept some.
Almost six years after the first Oak saplings sprouted, our beautiful daughter delivered them to their final home, where they will be planted amongst a variety of other broad-leaf plants in the Spring. We are so pleased that they now have such a great home to spread their roots and grow as our little girl has done alongside them over the last six years. Hopefully one day, she will visit them with her children and tell them the story of how she grew, just like those tiny acorns.