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Save the Mistletoe !
Mistletoe, one of the time-honoured symbols of Christmas is under threat! For many years, the ‘heartlands’ for mistletoe collection have been the cider counties – such as Somerset, Gloucestershire,...
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Holly, predicting the weather ?
Back in November, a number of papers reported that our holly trees were full with their bright red berries, and that according to folklore this was a sign that a hard winter was to come. There is no...
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Leaf variation – Holly (and Ivy).
Holly leaves are prickly. But the leaves of the lower twigs and branches are said to have more prickles than the those higher up the tree. Ivy (Hedera) has lobed leaves but entire leaves can be...
View ArticleThe National Forest
The Countryside Commission had the idea of creating a new ‘National Forest’ in 1987 – to give a tangible expression of the benefits of trees and woodlands. It also has a practical role in terms of...
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Holly – a really useful tree
In various older texts on botany and gardening, it is said that ‘ … in Germany, Holly abounds in many forests… In France, it is abundant, more particularly in Brittany. The tree appears to attain a...
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Unseasonal weather
We have experienced an extended and warm autumn, and now true to Pliny’s words - “A fair and dry autumn brings in always a windy winter” - winter weather has now firmly settled upon us. The...
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The holly leaf miner : Phytomyza ilicis
Phytomyza ilicis is a dipteran fly that lays its eggs in holly leaves. It is one of the few insects that is able to make use of holly leaves as a food source / habitat. The female fly lays eggs in...
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The Natural History Museum – a summer walk
We recently had an email from Hannah Wise at the Natural History Museum. She felt that as our blog deals with many aspects of the British countryside that we might like their short films / videos...
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Atlantic Oak Woodlands – our “temperate rainforest”
There are some rare but beautiful woodlands around the coast of Britain nick-named the “temperate rainforest”. Yesterday, I visited one of these woodlands in North Wales and was mesmerised by it –...
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Making walking sticks – from stems picked out of the woodlands
Peter Jones and his sons make walking sticks on a serious scale using sticks they come across in the woods, where they do their forestry work. They use chestnut, silver birch, oak and hazel. But they...
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Mistletoe
Three evergreen plants come to mind at this time of year – Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe. Holly and Ivy are ‘immortalised’ in “The Holly and the Ivy” , a traditional Christmas carol. Both holly and ivy...
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A seasonal plant – Mistletoe.
Many evergreen plants are associated with Winter, and Christmas in particular - notably various fir trees as 'Christmas Trees', holly and ivy for decorations and wreaths, and mistletoe as the...
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“The dream comes true – finding the perfect woodland”
We had talked about buying land for about 15 years and had been looking seriously for about 7 years. We had a fairly big wish list, private, quiet and secluded, not too near a road, but with good...
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Ten surprising facts about Christmas traditions and Christmas around the world
1. In Brazil, where Christmas falls in the summer, Brazilians often put cotton wool on pine trees to represent the snow that often falls in Europe and America 2. When Christmas cards were invented...
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Unusual or exotic trees – the holly?
Holly is not a ’typical’ tree in a number of ways. For example, it is evergreen but not a conifer. A holly tree is either male or female. Also, holly leaves have spines and a thick, protective and...
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Christmas quiz with prize for the first 40 valid entries
Christmas is a good time to go for a woodland walk .... and for presents. For children, there's nothing better as a motivator than a quiz. So we are offering to send entrants a prize of a woodlands...
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Woodlands web updates (2)
Holly and ivy have seasonal connotations, and due to climate change they are probably looking quite lush and vigorous at present. Studies have shown that in recent times, holly has spread further...
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woodlands web updates : 29
Flowers of the woodland floor. Some woodland flowers enjoy the dappled light of the woodland floor beneath the canopy. They grow in relatively shady, cool and damp conditions in the humus-rich soils....
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