Michael Starrett

Trying to find one particular tree to “hug” was my biggest problem so I gave up. You see I was born in the middle of a forest in deepest County Tyrone and I never saw any tree in isolation so I went for trees amongst trees that mean the most to me. In 1997, the then Chairperson of the Heritage Council, Freda Rountree, owned a native tree nursery in County Offaly.

She helped me plant “my forest” at the bottom of the garden. SO – I enjoy the native apple trees, the native plums, the native crab apple, the native holly, rowan and oak and now, slap bang in the middle, my multi-cultural walnut.

Blessed or what?