Audio version of Flowers – Paddy Madden The barely noticeable cross shaped white flowers and nettle-shaped leaves of Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) or Hedge garlic on the road verge do not command the attention of most passers-by. Nonetheless, this is an extremely important plant for the caterpillars of the Orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) butterfly. In…
Audio version of Vegetables in April By: Paddy Madden Mangetout peas started indoors in March are using their tendrils to climb up the strings around the wigwam made from four hazel posts. Strings are positioned with a 10cm gap between them. The hardy Meteor peas which were started indoors in March in a window box look healthy…
Audio version of the Buds of April By: Paddy Madden New life unfolds in April. Buds continue to open in woods, hedges, parks and gardens displaying the new, fresh growth within. The black, hard leaf buds of Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) are among the last to open. Nonetheless, buds do open on the ash, but these…
Murmur of bees in the garden. What a glorious sound! These days we read so much about their decline. On a walkabout of the garden noticed these plants were attracting the most. Lungwort (Pulmonaria), a shade-loving plant with its bluish-purplish flowers and blotched leaves is constantly visited by bumblebees. Another good one for the bees…
A dry, sunny spring day. Egg-shaped Sycamore buds beginning to open and unfold fresh, pinkish coloured leaves. The Coltsfoot which some people confuse with the dandelion in full splendour. (The leaves resemble a foal’s foot). Noticed the Greater stitchwort with its star-like petals weaving through the hedgerow for the first time this year. The hawthorn…
What is important is that children have the opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it, before being asked to heal its wounds
(David Sobel)
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