Small conifer tree growing inside a protective plastic tube

On a recent trip to my parents house in Cornwall I took a new look at something I’d seen lots of times. These conifer trees they are trying to grow have seemed to take an age to get going. They are growing in a protective plastic tube, which lets in light, but not animals. The surrounding ground also has to be cleared to give them a chance to grow.

This time though my youngest, 20 month old, daughter was fascinated by the little trees growing in the tubes, she would peer down inside and poke her hand in to try and pull at the struggling tree. ‘Pikey’ she would say – she misses off all initial letters, so this translates as ‘Spikey’.

Looking down the tube myself I thought the green glow and the young plant almost ‘reaching’ for the top was worth a photo – so here it is.

Yes, it’s a square crop, it seemed to lend itself to square because of the round tube – I’ve been challenged by other shapes again recently, more on that another time.