Do you love trees? We do! In fact, we love trees so much that our superstar children’s book designer and author, Sarah-Leigh, has made a tree the hero of her latest book.
‘Sally Sapling’ features the eponymous character who witnesses the changing decades as she goes from a young tree to a mature copper beech. It’s a heart-warming tale, which, along with the gorgeous drawings, makes it a wonderful addition to Happydesigner’s library of publications. If you’d like a copy of Sally Sapling (and if you do, thank you so much!), here’s a link: ETSY STORE.
But back to trees…
We thought we’d ask some of Happydesigner’s chums to tell us why they love trees, and here’s what they said.
First, a revelation from Dave: “I still like to climb trees. There was an easy-to-climb tree near my childhood home, and every summer I could go a little bit higher. Now, well into my middle age, I often find myself looking at trees in forests and parks wondering how far up I could get.”
That got us thinking: would we climb trees now? Probably not, but imagine the view if we did.
Here’s what Caroline told us. “My favourite tree is a horse chestnut because I used to love collecting conkers in autumn and taking them to school to have conker fights with my friends.”
We’re not sure if playing conkers is allowed any more, but even if not, scuffing through the leaves to alight on one of those prickly cases, prising it open and finding a shiny conker inside is a particular joy. Did you know, it’s said that if you put a bowl of conkers in your house, you’ll deter spiders? We like spiders here, and so we won’t try that one.
Helen remembers a particular tree from her childhood. “We only had one tree in the garden of my childhood home, and it was an apple tree (cooking apples, so they made great pies and crumbles). I used to put a picnic blanket underneath it, line up all my toys and read my books. Cheesy but true! I remember that tree very fondly.”
Aww… that’s a nice image.
This from Angela. “We had a gorgeous weeping pear tree in our garden. The fruit isn’t edible, but the tree is so pretty. One year, half of the branches came off in a storm and it looked very bedraggled. We were advised to take it out, but I wanted to give the tree a chance. A bit of pruning, and a couple of years later you’d never know it had been damaged. That’s what I love about trees; they are so resilient.”
And finally, from Graham, who sums it up for all of us: “I just LOVE trees; just walking amongst them in dappled shade is a treat indeed.”
Not only are trees beautiful to look at and calming to walk through, but forests are often called the lungs of the planet; this is because they ‘breathe’ in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen. It’s what makes trees so essential in the fight against climate change.
At Happydesigner, we’re proud that we are doing out bit for reforestation. We are a partner with Ecologi, an organisation dedicated to worldwide climate projects and UK reforestation schemes.
Our subscription to this organisation is used to help offset the carbon we use. So far, we have reduced carbon output by 52.98 tonnes and planted 1,612 trees in our forest. That’s not bad for a little business like ours.
Trees have been featured in literature throughout the decades. This must be one of our favourite couplets – from AE Housman:
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough
That’s more of a spring poem, but now we are in autumn, this really is the time to enjoy trees.
We’re off for a walk soon to scuff among the leaves and to see if we can collect a few conkers. We may even get inspiration for a sequel to Sally Sapling.
In the meantime, if we can help with any design projects or bring your book to life, please get in touch with us here.
Written by Jo Smyth (www.wordworker.co.uk)
