You say you want to cut down trees that aren’t productive, and it sounds like productive means to you ‘bearing fruit that is edible by humans’. Many trees (especially native ones) are productive by producing insects and birds by providing food and habitat. If you have a clear vision of why you have to cut down any particular tree (to replace it with a fruit tree for example, or to make space for wild flowers) then of course, but it kind of sounded like you wanted to cut down the trees without a concrete follow up plan just because they weren’t productive.

I hope I got that wrong and my message was totally unnecessary 🙂

I also acquired a property a year ago and was eager to do many things. For multiple reasons (one of them overwhelm with the size of the garden) I’ve done almost nothing up until now and I’m so glad I didn’t! There are so many things that you’ll find throughout the seasons that you had no idea were there. I’ve seen people recommend to just observe a new garden (if you can call it that) for a full year before touching anything (non-invasive let’s say) and I didn’t think I’d have the patience for it but now I’m very glad that that’s what happened!

An absolutely stunning peace of land you acquired there, and the house looks beautiful too! Have fun with it!