Country diary: Which tree sounds the best in the wind? Take a bough, the poplar | Derek Niemann

Frome, Somerset: With a sway and a swoosh, we’re entering the season to enjoy psithurism – the aural quality of the breeze in the treesThe wind-catchers along the bottom of the valley miss nothing. Even the lightest breath has them whispering. And when the wind strengthens, they do a good imitation of the river streaming over boulders below their feet. Truly, when it blows, it pours.Pass a poplar and you are enjoying the best example of psithurism, the sound of wind in trees. All this growing season, I have listened politely to oaks, alders and willows, but if I rocked up in a pub looking for chatty company, I’d want a poplar on the bar stool next to me. Continue reading...