The horrible wet start to the year starts to fade from the memory, as, in the Thames Valley at least, the spectre of another spring drought emerges. Would this roller-coaster in our water supplies be very different if more of the country was under trees? There is a widespread belief that forest cover, at large… Continue reading April Showers
Tag: gardening
The Woods above my head
We mostly live in the space between the ground and the tree canopy and tend to focus on the plants and animals we can see or sense in this zone: the sight of butterflies flying off ahead of us, the scent of wild garlic, the sound of birdsong from the bushes, the taste of blackberries,… Continue reading The Woods above my head
The magic of spring
Woodpeckers are drumming in the woods; frogs are croaking in our pond. The snowdrops are in full bloom, primroses and celandines starting to open; the ranks of the bluebell leaves are assembling. On the bramble stems fresh green is starting to show in the buds contrasting with the holey, dark greeny-brown of last year’s foliage.… Continue reading The magic of spring
Non-native plants in woodland ground flora in the future
The snowdrops are coming into bloom in the woods on the top of Wytham Hill; soon there will be the (garden variety) daffodils and even a plant or two of star-of-Bethlehem: all non-natives, but I will enjoy their beauty none-the-less. They are part of the story of the Woods, mostly probably planted in the 1920s.… Continue reading Non-native plants in woodland ground flora in the future
The Old Man of Wytham 