The Woodlands.co.uk Blog - Plants & Flowers
Emerging from the Winter weather
We have finally emerged from winter. Met Office statistics confirm what we know and have experienced, namely that this last winter was colder and snowier than other recent winters. The average temperature in the UK this winter was 1.6oC; this is some 2.1oC below the average.* For England and Wales, it was the coldest winter since that of 1978/9. In Scotland, it was even more extreme; only the winter of 1962/3 was colder. The winter was also characterised by snow (and disruption); 20cm of snow was recorded in parts of southern England in early January and 30cm in central and northern Scotland in late February. At Aviemore 44cm of snow was lying on the 25th February, whilst Braemar recorded a temperature of minus 19.2oC! Read more…
The Ghost of Workers Past Pt 6, Vegetation : Delving into the history hidden in your woodland
In all the talk of ground archaeology I haven’t made any mention of the trees and the ground flora. They provide important clues to past use and help to improve the picture you build up of the wood’s history. Read more…
Woodland Courses 2010 Pt 1
There’s a bumper crop this year, so this is just a very small selection of courses up to June that caught our eye. Check on websites such as Woodlots , Small Woodland Owners Group and the Small Woods Association magazine for more. If you have been on any courses that you would recommend, or run some yourself, why not share it with others by putting a comment in the box below. And don’t forget that Woodlands.co.uk now includes £300 towards the cost of courses and training as part of its new woodland owner package. Find out more at Free Courses for Woodland Purchasers. Read more…
Horse Chestnut disease – an update
The Woodlands Blog has previously reported on the threats facing the Horse Chestnut tree in the UK, specifically: Read more…
Discovering Long Wood – a year in the life of a small wood – September
Heather has been studying the mushrooms in Long Wood. Rodney’s labours with the hemlock are bearing fruit in the form of a three-sided log shelter – not finished yet, but looking good. Read more… SeptemberRead more…
SOS: Save Our Sedge – woodland plants in decline?
A worrying decline in native woodland plants has been highlighted in the news this week by the conservation charity Plantlife. The Government-funded Countryside Survey has found that, although England is now less intensively farmed than ten years ago, wild plants and animals are not doing as well as might be expected. Britain has lost the equivalent of 16,000 miles of hedgerow or 6% in the last ten years. Read more…
Pretty as A Picture – A Family Weekend at Nature’s Playground
Jade at Play Action describes a happy Family Weekend, nearly, but not quite, rained off ….
The day has finally come and the jeep is packed full of camping equipment, tools, paint, jars, glue and coloured card. The weather is looking fine, however the phone has been ringing from the crack of dawn with people enquiring if the weekend is still happening. The forecast for Kent has changed to rain! Read more…
The Edge Effect
Julian Evans returns in the latest WoodlandsTV video to explain the edge effect on woodland tracks.