Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
It will not be long before the signs of autumn are apparent to all of us, especially after such a hot and dry summer. Once again the BBC, the Woodland Trust and the UK Phenology Network are inviting...
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Blackberries – brambles
This is your last chance to pick your blackberries. Michaelmas (29th September) is, by legend, the day the Devil spits on them, making them inedible. Another version of the story is that a bramble...
View ArticleChanging Colours – Why do leaves change colour in the autumn?
Come the autumn, the leaves of many deciduous trees change colour – no longer green they turn yellow, brown, red or purple. What has happened? When leaves unfurl from their buds in early spring, they...
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Lichens
At this time of year, woods can seem a bit ‘naked’ and empty. Trees and shrubs have entered into a dormant state in order to survive the rigours of the winter months, their buds await the signals that...
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Autumn fruits
Autumn is a time when the hedgerows and woodlands literally ‘bear fruit’ such as Blackberries, Elderberries, Haws (from Hawthorn), Rose hips, and Sloes (from the Blackthorn). Over the years, the blog...
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Autumn leaves
At the end of the summer, the leaves should have done their job; that of making sugars to be used in growth, the formation of new twigs and branches, forming fruits and seeds. However, winter is not...
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Spending time in woodland – an escape from the tyranny of modern time
Nature is the biggest public clock, but it operates in ways that contrast with our rather industrialised way of measuring time. Nature’s time is seasonal and much less uniform than the digital clock...
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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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Autumnal colours and leaves of gold.
At this time of year, the pigments (xanthopylls, anthocyanins and carotenoids) in the leaves of deciduous plants break down giving the colours of the Fall. These colours are particularly obvious in...
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A trip to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
A small contingent set off from Woodlands HQ in SE London to visit Kew Gardens. A trip to Kew is always a pleasure but there were a number of things that had induced us to face the rigours of the...
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Too hot, too dry – continued
Looking around the garden this morning one might be forgiven for thinking that autumn is already here. Several trees seem to think the short days of autumn have arrived and are preparing to shed their...
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