Hello Wild Soul,
Alder is often described as the tree of the Spring Equinox and according to the Celtic Tree Calendar is assigned to the period of time between March 18th and April 14th. It is a fascinating tree that thrives in damp places and can often be found growing beside rivers, lakes and ponds where its roots will be submerged beneath the water.
It is a relatively short lived tree, with a lifespan of around 60 years but within that time, it can transform its surroundings, much like close family member, the Birch tree. Alders form an association with a nitrogen fixing bacteria, which allows the tree to grow in nutritionally poor soils, and improves the soil around them so that other trees such as Oaks can grow there. This earns them the title of a ‘nurse’ tree.
The wood of the Alder tree is relatively soft, but when submerged beneath the water, it becomes as hard as stone. For this reason, it is a wood favoured for building bridges. In fact, Venice is built on top of millions of Alder timbers that were submerged into the clay for structure as early as the 5th century. Quite impressive for such a short lived tree!
Along with its obvious connection to the water element, it is also believed to embody the energy of fire. In early Spring, the Alder tree can be seen ‘glowing’ red with catkins and if the tree is cut down, its pale wood reacts quickly with oxygen, turning the wood a rich, deep orange colour. This association with both fire and water is one of reasons that the Alder tree is believed to represent ‘balance.’
Alder is monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers are found on the same tree. Male catkins, measure up to 6cm, and turn from red to yellow as they open. Female catkins are much small, starting out as red, oval-shaped cones before growing and turning green and eventually brown after pollination. They can be seen growing on the tree all at the same time.
We have loved working with the energy of this beautiful tree and if you would like to see Chris crafting these pieces, you can head over to our Instagram page where we shared some videos this week.
With love from the trees
Nic x
Wild Fen 