Only a week since these same woods were carpeted in white, This Sunday they surprised me with a mass of bluebells, I think they are early this year.
This is the woodland at Outwood which I visited on my last post. It is next to the windmill (which was the oldest working windmill in England until storms caused damage in 2013). The National Trust owns this woodland, which is part of the Harewood Estate.
These beautiful flowers are an indicator of ancient woodland, which is defined as land that has been continuously wooded since 1600 or earlier.
Wood anemone spreads via root, not seed and takes 100 years to spread a mere six foot. because of its slow growth it is usually only found in old woodland. It is tempting to pick but is poisonous.
Bluebells here are the old English Bluebell and not the more recent Spanish variety that has become invasive in some parts of this country. The English bluebell is the only one that carries scent (I think they smell like sugar and rain) and the flower spike has bells on one side only, giving the graceful droop that is so characteristic, the English Bluebell has white, not blue, anthers.
IN 1548 William Turner wrote about Bluebell in his book, The Names of Herbe's,
'some use the root as glue' (surprising that such a delicate flower would have such strength hidden inside). I have been reading about this and found there is evidence that the flower glue was used to fix feathers to arrows in the Bronze age. Just imagine.
There is so much to see in these woods: banks of celandine by the stream, wild primrose and violet, honeysuckle putting out new shoots, hover flies and butterflies everywhere here already.
Our ancient woodland is protected but there are loopholes in our UK development regulations that still leave some beautiful areas in danger of being lost. There is much about this and proposed amendments to the current protective laws of ancient woodland at The Woodland Trust website *here*.
For the next few weeks I am very lucky to be able to see these thousands of wood anemone in drifts mingling with bluebells as far as the eye can see. Beyond this some fields are now bright yellow with rapeseed. All I' m looking for now to complete the picture is a spring lamb or two!
Today I am pottering, I might paint a little, do some gardening or even some Spring cleaning! but it's likely I will be heading back to the bluebells too before the day is over........
This is the woodland at Outwood which I visited on my last post. It is next to the windmill (which was the oldest working windmill in England until storms caused damage in 2013). The National Trust owns this woodland, which is part of the Harewood Estate.
-
These beautiful flowers are an indicator of ancient woodland, which is defined as land that has been continuously wooded since 1600 or earlier.
Wood anemone spreads via root, not seed and takes 100 years to spread a mere six foot. because of its slow growth it is usually only found in old woodland. It is tempting to pick but is poisonous.
Bluebells here are the old English Bluebell and not the more recent Spanish variety that has become invasive in some parts of this country. The English bluebell is the only one that carries scent (I think they smell like sugar and rain) and the flower spike has bells on one side only, giving the graceful droop that is so characteristic, the English Bluebell has white, not blue, anthers.
IN 1548 William Turner wrote about Bluebell in his book, The Names of Herbe's,
'some use the root as glue' (surprising that such a delicate flower would have such strength hidden inside). I have been reading about this and found there is evidence that the flower glue was used to fix feathers to arrows in the Bronze age. Just imagine.
There is so much to see in these woods: banks of celandine by the stream, wild primrose and violet, honeysuckle putting out new shoots, hover flies and butterflies everywhere here already.
Our ancient woodland is protected but there are loopholes in our UK development regulations that still leave some beautiful areas in danger of being lost. There is much about this and proposed amendments to the current protective laws of ancient woodland at The Woodland Trust website *here*.
For the next few weeks I am very lucky to be able to see these thousands of wood anemone in drifts mingling with bluebells as far as the eye can see. Beyond this some fields are now bright yellow with rapeseed. All I' m looking for now to complete the picture is a spring lamb or two!
Today I am pottering, I might paint a little, do some gardening or even some Spring cleaning! but it's likely I will be heading back to the bluebells too before the day is over........
