Saturday 16 July 2011

Life on the margins

Within a couple of miles walk of where I live I reach places where nature is taking back what is rightfully hers. Along the verges of the trunk roads new woodland is well established. Further back there are fields cut off from farms that are reverting back to how nature intended. I don't suppose anyone from officialdom planned it this way. There aren't any signposts or footpaths. Just a haven for wildlife if you take the trouble to look and see. These are amongst my favourite places to go walkabout.


Woodland by the A38

Farm fields reverting to woodland...

...with pioneering ash.

Species-rich unmanaged grassland...

...with lesser stichwort...

...creeping thistle...

...birds-foot trefoil...

...red clover...

...

...bush vetch...

...tufted vetch...

...great burnet...

...ragwort...

...wild carrot...

...beasties enjoying yarrow...

...small skipper on tufted vetch...

...pondlife - swallows and dragonflies here...

...glimpse of a hawk...

...ancestral memories.

Loving it.

Yes I'm still growing veggies

Cropping now: spuds, cabbages, peas, carrots, salad greens, courgettes, gooseberries, raspberries, cherries...

Brassicas

For the winter - sprouts and broccoli:



For the autumn - hispi cabbages:

French beans

Flowering nicely:


Courgettes

Courgettes undersown with crimson clover:


Planning ahead

More winter veggies - carrots, leeks and scorenza:

Salad greens

Wild rocket and mizuna:

Maincrop peas

Almost ready...


More poppies

Keeping the bees happy. And me too.





Cornflowers




Snapdragons

Self-seeded from when I used to grow them in rows for cut flowers:




Orchard in July

Speaks for itself really.