We started constructing it three years ago. We bought this land as empty pasture, no fences, trees, shrubs.. nothing! Some trees came up as volunteers after the pigs tore the ground up (isn't a seed bank amazing!!). I covered the area with woodchips to keep out most of the grass long enough for other things to settle in.

We have a lot of issues with diseased trees in this country so we did buy a chesnut which will be the mother tree of all future chesnuts on our property.
I also replanted a lot of trees that we could get from building sites and other people. Just young trees where you can still get to the roots.

This country is being foolish. Once a tree gets a disease it needs to be removed and that species isn't replanted. As a result we don't have that much diversity left. One of the remaining trees is the oak.. and guess what.. this has become a huge problem due to the oak processionary caterpillar we now seem to have. It's on the news every week, people are getting seriously hurt or blind.
Sometimes I think there is no cure for this country...
If I ever aquire some unexplainable amount of money I will make my own country somewhere on an island. Homesteaders only, make your own home, barter goods and keep the diversity in nature since you depend on it.