Hoverfly video

More great work from Nic Cairns – this time a video of a Hoverfly visiting an Oxeye Daisy…..

Thanks to Nic for this video, taken at Ecoworks Community Garden.  Can anyone identify the Hoverfly species?

Yellow Rattle

Here’s some photos of Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor), taken by Nic Cairns at Ecoworks Community Garden…..

Yellow Rattle is semi-parasitic on the roots of other plants, obtaining some of its nutrient needs from them.  It’s useful in increasing the biodiversity of a grassland area, as it inhibits the growth of dominant grasses, thus allowing a variety of less-vigorous wildflower species to gain a foothold.  This is what is being attempted at Ecoworks, where Yellow Rattle seeds have been sown to help with establishment of a wildflower area.  The species has done well, and hopefully the diversity of the garden will benefit….

In praise of the Dandelion

The recent warm weather has been excellent for pollinating insects; here’s a superb close-up of a bee visiting a Dandelion flower…..

The Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is generally regarded as a weed, but it’s a shame to dismiss it thus.  It’s an important nectar source for a number of insects (particularly Bumblebees), especially early and late in the year when other flowers may be scarce.   Its also a food plant for larvae of the White Ermine Moth, and its seeds are eaten by finches.  Dandelions are also of interest to foragers and herbalists, and all parts of the plant can be used.  It’s also a beautiful flower when examined up close, as in this photo – taken today by Nic Cairns at Ecoworks Community Garden.

Hawthorn Shield-Bug

Thanks to the folks at The Sumac Centre in Forest Fields, who sent this picture of an interesting insect seen in their garden :

It’s a Hawthorn Shield-Bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale), the most commonly seen Shield-Bug.  It will have recently emerged from hibernation to breed, and is often seen in gardens at this time of year.  It’s more common in Southern England, but has been steadily expanding north in recent decades – perhaps due to climate change.

Marsh Marigold

Here’s a photo of Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), from the pond at Ecoworks Community Garden….

This perennial relative of the buttercup is a characteristic plant of wet ground, and is an attractive spring flower.  Thanks to Nic Cairns for the image.

 

 

 

Cleavers

Yet another great close-up from Nic Cairns, this time a young shoot of Cleavers from Ecoworks Community Garden…….

Cleavers (Galium aparine) is a very common plant, also known as Stickyweed or Goosegrass, and is known for its stickiness, caused by its numerous hooked hairs – which are visible in Nick’s photo.

The plant is also of interest to foragers; all parts are edible, and it is perhaps best cooked like spinach, when it is young and tender in the early spring.  It also has a long tradition of medicinal use for treating a variety of ailments, and it is used today by medical herbalists; see here for a recipe for Cleavers Tea, which is a cleansing tonic for the lymphatic system.

If you’d like to forage for cleavers, you’ll find it in all sorts of places – hedges, fields, and wastelands – and the best time to start looking for it is now, when the young, green growth is starting….

Hazel female flowers

To accompany his photo of Hazel catkins from a couple of weeks ago, Nic Cairns has contributed an image of the female flowers….

The female flowers are much smaller and less conspicuous than the prominent male catkins, but quite striking when spotted.  They will be pollinated via wind by another Hazel, (an individual plant cannot self-pollinate), and will then develop into the familiar nuts.

Thanks to Nic for the photo, taken at Ecoworks Community Garden.

Wild Food Foraging at City Farm

There will be a wild food foraging session at Stonebridge City Farm once a month for the next four months.  The first one is on Wednesday:

These sessions are highly recommended as a way of brushing up on your wild plant identification knowledge, and discovering interesting ways to use them; foraging is a *really* good activity for increasing your contact with nature, and entirely sustainable if sensible guidelines (such as these) are followed.

Keep an eye on Field Kitchen’s website for other upcoming foraging events in Nottingham, which currently include:

Saturday 18^th May, 10-4pm: The Field Kitchen will be at the West Bridgford Summer Gathering, offering tasters of locally foraged teas and plants.

Saturday 25th May, 12-4pm: Fermentation workshop with Rebecca Beinart at Stonebridge City Farm: Try your hand at making Sourdough bread, Sauerkraut and Ginger beer.

Sunday 2^nd June, 2-5pm: Field Kitchen bicycle-based foraging trip along the River Trent, where you will learn to identify wild food plants and cook up a foraged feast. Costs: £10 per person.

Bug Hotel in the Meadows

After admiring a Bug Hotel in Stapleford recently, I was pleased to see another example in the Meadows :

This one is at Arkwright Meadows Community Garden, right in the middle of the Meadows housing estate – a real asset in a built-up area.

Winter flowers at Ecoworks

Today the Ecoworks Community Garden on the Hungerhill Allotments in St. Ann’s was displaying some handsome winter-flowering shrubs.  One was Cornus mas, the Cornelian Cherry :

Also decked in bright yellow flowers was a Mahonia japonica :

Neither of these two shrubs is native – Cornelian Cherry grows wild in France, and is naturalised in places in the UK, whilst Mahonia japonica is a garden plant native to Asia.  Although native species are generally most valuable for wildlife, winter-flowering shrubs such as these have a valuable role to play as early nectar sources for insects which have become active in mild weather in January – and with the climate increasingly unpredictable, this is an important function.  They look great too!