Why you love pine!
Every day until the 14th of February we picked the best daily quote and sent the winner one of these gorgeous Pine Prints. Each day the runners up received one of our Pine Posters.
On the 15th February we picked an overall winner, who received the grand prize of a beautiful wood sculpture. Made from the natural burl of an elm tree, this sculpture depicts a couple at the base of two trees, whose branches are intertwined a fitting theme for Valentine's Day! The winner is Albert Peace, from the UK.
1 February
I love pine because
It is a noble strong tree
The wet copper bark in the rain,
The sharp hot tang of resin in the sun
And dry needles on the ground.
The ant hills,
The cross bills.
The red squirrel, the capercaillie and the crested tit
All of it!
Will Boyd-Wallis, Morayshire
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
I love the ruddiness within the bark. That redness makes me think of life and warmth. You know these trees are feisty and spirited and when we aren't looking they dance reels and jigs and tell raucus their follies are. And those old granny pines are old ladies, who have seen or heard it all and they do so love to gossip I am sure....
Barbara Heys, Coventry
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
I love Scots Pine because, to me, its the essence of Scotland, the species that embodies everything about the land. Its rugged grandeur epitomises exactly what Scotland is - hardy, strong and incredibly beautiful. I have my own special Scots Pine its very old, very gnarled and is host to a myriad of other life. The Scots Pine IS Scotland - we can never have too many.
Irene Lobban, Perthshire
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
i love pine because its shiny and the pixies turn it into prawn crackers at midnight.
2 February
Its smell is the quintessential aroma of deep Caledonian type forests for me. After a week at Glen Affric with Trees for Life last November, I have learnt more about the magnificent environment around me. Trees are our grandparents, we need to love them and look after them!
Jacquie Coupe, UK
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
I love pine because its prickly scent makes my heart sing!
Gudrun Gaudian, Yorkshire
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
4 February
I love pine because the sight of the evening sun setting against the red upper bark and branches of the Scots Pine is the one of the most calming and beautiful sights I can behold, or sitting amongst the mattressed hummocks in a mature stand alongside the needle covered roots of a mature granny is to experience peace and rootedness, the stillness created around the branches against the crisp highland skies is to take me back to some primeval Scottish past and a hopeful future.
Ewan Kelly, Edinburgh
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
It is a tree for all seasons. I love it for its character and colour, its smell and feel, its height and shape, its timelessness.
Pat Williams, Uk
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
It reminds me of the simple pleasures in life and shows us how important nature is to everyone. It's something that should be protected and cared for.
Carla Knight,West Wales
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
6 February
Because of the evocative aroma of its resin which conjures up memories of the Black Wood of Rannoch. Because of how sublime and~majestic a mature pine~appears when silhouetted against the setting sun. Because of the mesmerising nature of its wonderfully patterned bark. Because the~incomparable experience of sauntering over the needle-carpeted floor of a~pristine pine wood is undeniably divine.~I love pine for all these reasons and more.
Ashley Peace, Edinburgh
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
7 February
I love pine because in native pinewoods they develop into an array of distinct shades and personalities, their rich colour and texture and aroma remain on the bleakest day whatever the time of year. Standing like benevolent guardians of their distinctive habitat.
Steve Hull, Forres
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
8 February
The pine stands above all other trees in the forest. Like people they grow tall and straight when young and then mature towards old age to a unique form and character. The pine woods have many moods sometimes light, open and full of life and sometimes dark and brooding. They evoke our shared past, tree and man together, both making the best of climate and landscape.
Matthew Hawkins, Grantown on Spey
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
9 February
I love pine because the scent of pine triggers so many separate memories - walks in the mountains, boots squeezing pine needle mould, sticky pine sap on my fingers, newly planed pine boards, woodfires cracking, retsina ....
Richard Bennett, Glos
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
Him
So, where does one start with Scots Pine?
Well, the species is finer than wine.
It gets better with age,
and its bouquet I'll wage,
Is a vintage through all of it's time.
It's home to an animal or two,
Like a statuesqe form of a zoo.
It has branches, not chains
For its guests it maintains,
a sofa-bed, kitchen and loo
With its armour of thick diamond bark,
It's a towering, sheltering arc.
With a pair of black crows
and a warren of does,
Eighteen squirrels, two owls and a lark.
Yes, this Pinus Sylvestris is king
Like Sylvestris Stallone of the ring.
So, plant one today,
so your children can say,
"Now, that's just a beautiful thing".
Iain Reynolds, Stirlingshire
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
Her
Mr and Mrs Sylvestris stand tall and proud
Giving shelter to all on the ground
Their heavy branches laden with snow
By the full-moon's beacon they sparkle and glow
And underneath all is warm
On a bed of needles and cones, the animals yawn
Chatting to neighbours, watching the children grow
Mr and Mrs Sylvestris carry the snow
Until warmer weather loosens the load
And the squirrels of red are no longer cold
Prepare their nesting-bed ready for spring
The excited birds whistle and sing
Mr and Mrs Sylvestris watch over their friends
Keeping them sheltered under every bend
Their fine green fingers touching the neighbours
Hope to be safe from man's sharp sabres
Anne Clayton, Cumbria
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
I love pine because the big ones keep off some of the wind and the rain (and even the hot sun) when you're out planting little ones.
Helen Bennett, Lancs
10 February
First prize winner
Whilst a single scots pine silhouetted against the sky, is a glorious and uplifting sight. Walking in a forest of pine is a treat for all the senses. The soft needle carpet under foot, the unmistakable aroma, the lichen covered bark. With its subdued sound quality, it is like entering another world, a gentle, timeless world, evoking memories of a steadier pace of life, a life more in tune with nature. Inspiring, calming, vital and yet restful, one emerges reluctantly but restored.
Albert Peace, UK
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
Overall winner - receives a wooden tree sculpture
11 February
I love pine because it is:
Indigenous
Lofty
Outstanding
Voluptuous
Evocative
Perfect
Illustrious
Nurturing
Enriching.
Annabel Hill, UK
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
12 February
I love Pine because of
Its perfection
Its perfume
Its pitch
Its proportions
Its photosynthesis
Its permanence
Its predominance
Its precision
Its phototropism
Its preciousness
Its pragmatism
Its proficiency
Its predictability
Its passion
Its power
Its PEACE
Maureen Bell, London
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
14 February
A solitary Scots pine, boldly embraces the boggy ground
A canopy for solitude, where quiet reflection welcomingly is found
~
The beauty and grace of this knarled, stately tree
Speaks to a resilience of its persistence just to be
~
The dew-kissed branches dance with glittering sunlit rays
Beckoning the wanderer to nestle in the space in which it lays
~
I am woman who sings with the spirit of the trees
The glorious music celebrating the voice with which it frees
~
Linda Dowds, Ontario
Today's Winner - receives a beautiful Scots pine watercolour print
I love Scots Pine because
I love it pine pitch
I love its needles green and bushy
I love its orange brown scaley bark
I love the warmth and shelter this tree brings
Nature chirps in its boughs
I love the Scots Pine's wild- life
Gripping to a rocky cliff
Or growing on a sandy beach
This trees got a lot to give
God bless the pine,
Lets help it live!
Jason Caddy, Findhorn
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
I love pine because of the uniqueness of their shape, the warmth of their
colour, the vastness of their roots, the scent of their resin, the
homeliness of their shade, the sound of their silence and the secrativeness
of their history. Pine is the Hero of the forest who holds steady, preparing
the ground for all of nature to return and walk forth, together into the
next generation of wilderness.
Joan Dickson, Kinghorn
Runner-up - receives a Pine poster
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