How to prepare your trees and shrubs to survive the heat
There should be a lot of green in nature at this time of year. But instead of healthy forest, we see more and more often desolate landscapes and a barren steppe. Many tree and garden owners therefore ask my sons and me with great concern how they can best protect their trees from the effects of climate change.
Do trees or shrubs in your garden also show brown discoloration? Are the
Kevin, Alex and Luke: Baumdienst Siebengebirge Tree Service in second generation
All my children have inherited a passion for climbing and nature. Kevin, Alex and Luke in particular have shown from a very young age that they want to reach for the sky. I can still remember exactly how Kevin was already climbing in a tree at the age of 6 and how his younger siblings soon followed him. For some time, other things were even more important to my sons, which I think is perfectly
Long live the Queen!
Sometimes things happen just by coincidence but in a chronological sequence, which in retrospect seems more like a sign. Whether coincidence or sign, I would like to tell you about such an event today.
You certainly know that my heart and that of my family beats for the royals. Being British - even with a German passport - we feel close to the Royal Family. Even if Prince Philip had
Healthy spruce felled by the storm – how you can prevent this
Unfortunately, the latest Corona news are no good news. Experts warn of the third wave. The vaccination process in Germany is slowing down and the so-called British variant of the Corona virus, of all things, is considered particularly vicious.
In these times many of us have learned to appreciate our own garden in a whole new way. The garden is a private retreat where we can relax. In
After the pandemic is the time to celebrate together with you!
I am often being asked what I like best about my profession. Those are mostly two aspects: This is of course our daily encounter with nature and how we often succeed in revitalizing tress that other “experts” had already given up and recommended for felling. And I enjoy meeting our customers every day, enjoying the good talks and the feedback being of great value for us.
What I
Wait and see, drinking tea and a big thank you to our customers!
I hope you have had a good start to the new year. Current news about the coronavirus unfortunately gives little reason to hope that we will soon be able to put the crisis behind us. We will still have to exercise a lot of discipline and patience. Only in this way can we succeed in protecting the weaker members of society and ultimately defeat the virus.
For many, their home and garden
High hopes and also a huge disappointment
The year is about to end. 2020 has been a year like none before, for many people is has been a very tough year. We now are more hopeful as the Corona vaccine is about to become available.
But at the same time a beautiful dream seems to have come to an end as well. As it seems the town council has denied the allowance to continue “Little Britain” and rejected all our plans and
Children having great fun climbing a tree
It was the last week of autumn vacation that the organization “Gemeinsam für Vielfalt” (“Together for variety”) invited children and their parents to enjoy some activities in the Bürgerpark (Citizen’s park) in Unkel. Because of Corona some of the planned activities could not take place. Very much to the delight of the children our tree climb offer was not affected by that – thanks to plenty of
Also during Corona times: We are there for a safe live of trees!
Unfortunately, the corona virus returned from spring with even great force. The news get worse every day and the virus is increasingly determining our everyday life. To be concerned is more than justified. But it would be irresponsible not to care about other important topics just as well.
Thunderstorm & Damage: The Insurance is going to pay anyhow?
The thunderstorm of last week had badly hit our region. So much rain came down in the shortest time that fire workers were busy pumping flooded basements all during the night. And of course, the weather was an extreme stress test for the stability and breaking resistance of trees.
In extreme and scary situations like this garden owners asked themselves if their trees are really safe
The Douglas Tree – Friend or Enemy?
Friends of our family recently joined a tour through the woods nearby guided by the local forester. Our friends told me how well and interesting the forester explained the connections and relations between the spruce monoculture, the climate change, the bark beetle and the devastating situation that we encounter today across huge areas.
Instead of trees all we see is wasteland with
How to help your beloved tree to survive summer
The weather experts have alarming news: the summer of 2020 will be extreme again! Weakened by the enduring heat periods and drought of recent years many trees will not be able to survive – if we do not actively support them.
Especially spruce trees are in danger. But nowadays deciduous trees are affected just as well. My sons and I detect severe signs of disease among deciduous trees
Getting three days of work done in just one day
Buy cheap, buy twice… I am sure that we all have learnt at some time that a
supposedly cheap bargain later turned out to be a rather bad and costly decision.
When we purchase new equipment for Baumdienst Siebengebirge, we look for a true advantage for our customers and the work of our teams: to do the work in less time, to better protect the environment und to optimize cost
Nature returns
Do you also have the impression that the birds sing louder and even more beautiful in these days? The sky is just blue without any vapor trails and instead of roaring traffic on the freeway you hear the sounds nature. Walking though the woods you sense the life of animals and plants much more intensive than before.
Sadly, this also includes the many trees that have not survived the
The trees need our support – also during the Corona crisis
Everybody would have wished the first quarter of 2020 to be different than it developed. First it was the impact of the heavy storms devasting our forests even more. Now it is the Corona virus dominating our daily life and news like no other topic.
This is right and equally important because we know of the danger of an infections with the Corona virus especially for elderly people.
Storm front “Sabine“ hit our area – and left great chaos
We cannot prevent heavy storms and hurricanes from hitting our parks and gardens – but most often the heavy damage could have been prevented. Because there is a proven and very cost saving method to evaluate the stability of a tree: to have the tree being checked by a professional expert – ideally before the storm.
The importance
Bye, Bye Great Britain – Welcome Little Britain!
“Get Brexit done!” said those supporting leaving the EU until recently. Since the weekend this has been achieved. But nothing more – and probably soon also the leave-supporters among my fellow countrymen will realize, that this is not the future that we can wish for our children.
My daughters had planned to study in England. As we have heard the price for a semester abroad (seen
New short video of our work
A short version of this video is being broadcasted by German television n-tv. I hope you enjoy the video!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2020!
It is hard to believe, but Christmas is right around the corner – even though there seems to be no snow in sight. My family and I wish you a merry Christmas, a wonderful Christmas time and that all your wishes for 2020 may come true!
The climate change and its consequences were a major topic in the media this year and many of our customers have requested our advice. Everybody able to
Forest status report 2019: Only 1 tree out of 5 is healthy – How you can help your trees to survive
The last blog was about the miserable state German forests are in and the damage caused by enduring periods of summer heat and heavy storms. The secretary of environment of North Rhine Westphalia just released the official forest status report and describes the situation as follows: Compared to the already bad year before the situation has even got worse in 2019. Only 1 tree out of 5 is healthy
Are all forests doomed to die?
I have always loved taking long walks through the woods – to find some relief from stress enjoying the beauty of nature. As a young man I was very lucky to be educated in Sherwood Forest and I probably have worked on some trees which were already there when Robin Hood was still around. Sherwood Forest benefits very much from the fact that this forest has not been exploited by the wood industry
“The smallest car receives the biggest price”
While I was enjoying sunny summer holidays in Italy together with my family my sons Kevin, Alex and Luke Blackburn were busy back home visiting customers and working on trees leading our teams. It seems that my sons have not only inherited my passion for tree care and climbing. They enjoy our little collection of British classic vehicles just as much as I do. It was great fun and a great joy
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2019!
Together with my family and along with the whole team we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, good luck, health and success for the coming year. May all your wishes come true und may 2019 be a good year. See you soon in 2019!
Only six months to Brexit / Can Gary Blackburn save his “Little Britain”?
Dear friends of “Little Britain”, the recent media response in the English-speaking world has been tremendous with coverage from the BBC, British Forces BFBS and even RT UK. As many of you will already know my little collection of Cornish telephone boxs, double decker busses, Robin Hood and his hide away, Merlin, the Queen and Mr. Bean and his Mini on my private ground next to my company “
“Little Britain” shut down for now to be back soon
Dear friends and supporters of ”Little Britain“ please let me try to summarize what has been going on during the last weeks. “Little Britain“ has enjoyed tremendous support from all sides. Neighbors, that I had no personal contact to before, came by assuring me of their support. People on the internet - and in “real life“ - started petitions pro "Little Britain“ and collected all together
Neighbors and visitors demanding for „Little Britain“ to remain
Just a few days ago I returned from Scotland from my holidays – while my sons, the teams and the office were on duty for our customers – and I am still overwhelmed how much support there is for “Little Britain“ from nearly all sides. I appreciate this even more since this includes neighbors I haven’t even met in person before. People from the region further away are also among those supporters.
The Daily Star about our newest attraction at Little Britain (at Baumdienst Siebengebirge)
The Daily Star wrote about our newest attraction at Baumdienst Siebengebirge’s Little Britain.
Yes, I did it again ;-)
We now have two beautiful Double Decker Busses which will also be available for rent for company events and birthday parties!
DMAX and Deutsche Welle cover "Little Britain" and the Centurion tank
The winter has returned and covered „Little Britain“ with snow. Despite freezing temperatures our little exhibition proves to be as attractive as before. Especially during weekends lots of walkers come by to visit on their way through the Kasbachtal (Kasbachvalley). And the media are continuing their coverage on “Little Britain” as well. I would never have dreamt to eventually become part of a
Our family visit to the Somme in search of my grand-uncle who died 100 years ago
At the end of the year we look back and remember those moments and encounters that were most special to us. I hope 2017 has been a good year for you as well. It truly has been a great year for me and my family. You might have heard of “Little Britain” at my company ground of “Baumdienst Siebengebirge”? “Little Britain” is the place of Robin Hood’s hideaway, Mr. Bean’s Mini, the Queen is there, a
Gary Blackburn and family joining a seminar with Prof. Dr. Claus Mattheck in the Lüneburger Heide
It has been a family tradition for very many years to pay a visit to the Lüneburger Heide in the north of Germany and join a seminar lead and inspired by Prof. Dr. Claus Mattheck. Every year we gain new insights into the bio mechanics of trees and so much more. I had the pleasure getting to know Prof. Mattheck already in the eighties, when we were working on pruning and securing trees in the “
One of Great Britains most regarded journalists came by to visit Gary Blackburn’s “Little Britain”
When Robert Hardman called me on the phone I first thought this was some kind of hoax - as I am not part of the royal family. At least my parents never told me ;-). So therefore why would Daily Mail columnist Robert Hardman ask for an appointment to come by to do an article on “Little Britain”? Well, Robert arrived from London right the next day and we sat down together with my wife Monika and
Gary Blackburn's Little Britain goes international
Our "Little Britain" story at Baumdienst Siebengebirge has not only been covered by British tabloid press giants like The Sun but also many mainstream international news agencies and news networks.
Read the articles (or watch the videos) by clicking the links.
The Sun
The General Anzeiger Bonn reports in English about "Little Britain's" latest aquisition
The German media has been in a frenzy over the past few weeks, reporting of our latest acquisition to "Little Britain". The story has now crossed the language gap back to English as the General Anzeiger Bonn began reporting the story to all it's English speaking readers.
You can read their article here:
Germany’s most popular media cover „Little Britain“ at Baumdienst Siebengebirge
After the German Press Agency (dpa) had discovered our „Little Britain“ as a fabulous topic for the weekend my telephone didn’t stand still any more. Some of Germany’s most popular media picked up the story and covered our „Little Britain“ at Baumdienst Siebengebirge. Like "Bild am Sonntag":
TV, Press & Radio cover "Little Britain" at Baumdienst Siebengebirge
Our „Little Britain“ including the Queen, Robin Hood's Hideaway; Mr. Bean's Mini and the Centurion-tank all covered with flowers is being widely covered by German TV and radio. I very much enjoy this as well as countless visitors of Baumdienst Siebengebirge and wanderers through our beautiful Kasbach-valley have enjoyed our little exhibition. You will find the latest TV reports here:
The Tree of Imagination - an alternative to tree stump removal
After the majestic oak tree in the heart of the village suddenly died, the people of Lower Peover decided to pay homage to the trees contribution towards the village by giving it a new purpose - to inspire the thoughts of children and all those still young at heart.
A 320 million year old tree receives a visit from Baumdienst Siebengebirge
At Baumdienst Siebengebirge we love veteran trees, a passion that has led us to become the regions leading specialist for veteran tree care. When I was recently near Stanhope in the United Kingdom with my family, a visit to the Stanhope churchyard could not be resisted. For there stands the fossilised remains of a
TV Show DMAX: 52 tons of a childhood's memory on their way to Baumdienst Siebengebirge
Do you enjoy standing in front of a camera? I rather prefer working up 30 meters high in a tree than talking into a microphone. But when the German TV Station DMAX asked for permission to accompany me when my 52 ton childhood dream would be brought to my home at Baumdienst Siebengebirge I just could not say no. The reason is that the Centurion tank (of Swiss army origin) was to become the new
A new permanent visitor to the Queen! Mr. Bean as guest at Baumdienst Siebengebirge!
Exciting news: Together with my sons William and Kevin I have been to England for a few days to meet somebody, who will soon be joining Her Majesties inner circle. Welcome Mr. Bean!
From Sunday
Being guest on the Isle of Skye as a young tree worker
A year ago today my son Luke returned from Scotland. My friend and highly regarded Scottish colleague Alasdair Mackay had invited Luke to visit him at the Isle of Skye to work together with his tree surgeons team. The Isle of Skye is the largest of the islands in the Inner Hebrides and one of the most beautiful landscapes worldwide.
The snow turned Baumdienst Siebengebirge's site into a winter's dream
We have had snow for only a few days. But this was enough to turn Robin Hood's Hideaway & associates into a winter's dream. And I am privileged to be allowed to let you know: The Queen is amused :)
