Garden Notes

The splendour and wonder of sunrise

10/1/2022

It has been happening for over 4.5 billion years but only recently has it dawned on me that the best, most colourful and inspiring sunrises seem to be between November and February. Meteorologist Stephen Corfidi agrees and says it has to do with the confluence of a few meteorological factors. The reds, organges and yellow colours of sunset and sunrise are created by a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. The same phenomenon makes the sky appear blue during the day. Sunlight contains all the colours of the rainbow. But not all the colours reach the ground in the same concentration. Nitrogen and oxygen molecules in our atmosphere act as little mirrors for blue and violet light, in particular. That means not as much blue or violet light reaches the ground. Instead, it bounces around in our atmosphere, creating the blue dome of sky we’re all so familiar with

At sunrise and sunset, light has to travel through a greater distance of atmosphere to reach our eyes — so even more blue light, and even some green and yellow light, gets filtered out. That leaves us with the warmer hues of the visible light, the reds and oranges, and it’s why sunrises and sunsets look like the sky is on fire.

The air is typically filled with these tiny particles called aerosols, which are produced by things like trees but also by industrial activities. Aerosols attract water vapor and enlarge, essentially filtering the light we see in the sky and scattering it. But in the winter when the air is colder and dryer, there are less of these colour-filtering aerosols in the air, meaning we see colours in all their intensity.

So how many sunrises has the Earth witnessed? If we assume a 24 hour day thats 1642500000000
sunrises but this is a massive underestimate. Takanori Sasaki presents a graph relating the development of life ("though not an expert on the issue") with the length of the day through time. According to it, the first evidence of life, 3.5 billion years ago, happened when the day lasted 12 hours. The emergence of photosynthesis, 2.5 billion years ago, happened when the day lasted 18 hours. 1.7 billion years ago the day was 21 hours long and the eukaryotic cells emerged. The multicellular life began when the day lasted 23 hours, 1.2 billion years ago. The first human ancestors arose 4 million years ago, when the day was already very close to 24 hours long.

Being philosphical, the Earth (and universe for that matter), have taken a lot of trouble over billions of sunrises to form me so that I can admire, experience wonder and feel uplifted at its spectacle.

Rainbow

6/12/2021

Learning from ducks

29/10/2021

My latest project is to bring ducks to our pond. So this is the first step in what I think will be a long story. We have a large pond it is the most beautiful part of our garden and the plants around the edges make it look quite natural. Its home to lots of plants, fish and insects, three coots and periodically some wild ducks (mallards). We also have a heron who visits most days and in the breeding season a pair of Canada Geese rear their chicks. In spite of all this life it often looks quite empty so I thought I would try and introduce some pairs of breeding ducks.

After some searches on the internet I discovered someone close by who wanted to sell some ducks and got in touch. She responded and came to look at the garden and pond. She was very fond of her ducks and wanted to make sure they were coming to a good home. She liked the pond and give me advice on building a fox proof shelter.

I set about building the shelter with my grandson and we were pleased with the result. The lady brought her ducks – 2 white female Cambells and a grey Swedish Blue drake. She put them in the newly constructed pen and told me to keep them in the pen for a couple of days which I did. On the third day I opened the doors and expected them to rush out and jump into the pond which was only a few metres away but they didn’t want to venture out. I didn’t want to push them out for fear that they wouldn’t want to come back so I tried leaving the doors open the next day but they refused to come out. On the fifth day I decided to coax them out with a stick and they immediately jumped in the pond and they have been there ever since. Of course they did not come back to the cosy shelter I had made full of food rather, they camped on the side of the pond where any fox could take them. I was quite troubled by this and my sense of responsibility caused me to build another wooden shelter, much smaller than the first and put it close to where the ducks had decided to camp. Much less secure than the first shelter I wrapped some netting around it with lots of dogwood branches thinking any fox is going to have to make quite a lot of noise to get to them and this might give them time to escape. My next bit of observing is to see if they will use the shelter which means trying to observe what they do after it has gone dark. I went out this evening in the dark only to find them floating on the pond. I came back a read that ducks are partly nocturnal and they are often active at night. I also read that they can sleep with one eye open and only half their brain shut down and as there are 3 of them they could sleep in such a way as to be aware of night predators which was provided a little comfort.

These ducks have been reared in a pen in a garden and have not had to forage for food consequently I assumed that they would need help to survive in the more dangerous world of the pond and its environs. But their behaviour since coming out of the pen was as if they have never been in captivity. I think they are probably better able to looking after themselves than I thought and I am heartened by the fact that they get into the water if there is any sign of danger i.e me. I think I have quite a lot of watching to do in order to learn what I have to do to help them survive and flourish.

Sometimes doing nothing is the only help that nature needs

20/7/2021

This is the first of a series of posts I will be writing prompted by Sustainable Development Goal #15 which aims to "Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss." I am experimenting with writing short vignettes or stories to describe different ways I am engaging with the SDGs in my everyday life.

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In some respects it is the easiest of the 17 SDG goals for me to relate to in my everyday life as I am surrounded by 9 acres of land that I care for. I know that attending to my garden is one of the most important factors for my wellbeing. I am very conscious that I am only the custodian of this landscape and the time, effort and financial resources I put in to maintain it is also for the benefit of the people who will live here in the future and I will become one of the unknown gardeners of the past.

I like to conduct experiments and usually have two or more experiments on the go. One of my experiments this year was to let the grass grow in the garden. A few years ago we let the grass grow by the pond and were rewarded by the most magnificent display of oxeye daisies. This year we decided to conduct a much bigger experiment allowing the grass to grow over a large part of the garden. Normally I cut the grass using a tractor perhaps 10 times a year. It looks neat and tidy but it eliminates the biodiversity that I know must be there if given a chance to grow.

This year I let the grass grow and by early June the oxeye daisies formed a dense beautiful blanket together with many wild flowers – buttercup, dandelion, clover, cowslip, and the most beautiful magenta pyramid orchids to name but a few. Together they create not only a wonderful and uplifting spectacle but they support a thriving community of insects.

By July most of the daisies had withered and I wanted to mow the area and scatter the seeds. We’ve had a few days of hot dry weather so I took the opportunity to mow. I needed a few days of dry weather as wet cuttings are difficult to get off the ground. I was worried by the amount of time it would take me to cut and clear the dead grass and flowers. It took me about 6 hours in total which is similar to the length of time I would have spent cutting between March and July in previous years, so I have not expended more time and energy.

I am continuing my experiment as I have left some areas standing to see what happens (my wife called them islands which is a pretty apt description). I am hoping to learn when it’s the best time to mow my garden meadow so that it has maximum environmental benefit. I noticed that there are patches of bare earth in the grass I had cut so I scattered wildflower seeds I have purchased together with oxeye seeds from this year’s crop so hopefully next year they will germinate and flower. I will also use the mowed cuttings as a mulch in other parts of the garden and hope that the seeds it contains will germinate next year.

Reflections: Sometimes all nature needs is a helping hand. Stopping what I normally do - cutting the grass, enabled the plant life that was in the soil to flourish. In doing so I also benefitted a diverse population of insects. Presumably at some time in the past the oxeye daises were allowed to flourish and that is why they have spread so prolifically. I know that my garden was once an orchard so perhaps this was the previous ecosystem which I am seeking to restore. Only one apple tree remains adjacent to the wild flower meadow. After doing a bit of research I discovered that wild flowers were cultivated in orchards to attract insects that would then help pollinate the apple trees. Flowers were an integral part of the orchard ecosystem and once established they would sustain themselves by self-seeding. Through my experiment I had helped restore an orchard ecosystem.

Our one remaining apple tree from the orchard that was once our garden

I have cut the grass on this lawn every summer for the past 15 years but this year, but this year informed by a previous experiment, I let the grass grow over large areas and the results were spectacular and inspiring for me and my family. More than this it enabled plants and animals that do not normally inhabit this space to flourish.

I have changed a habit and I will repeat and expand the experiment for as a long as we live here. I chose to do something differently at a large scale because I had experimented and experienced something at a small scale and learnt through the process. Perhaps a lot of trying to change practice in response to the SDG’s will involve small scale experiments that we learn from, followed by more significant actions when we are convinced of the value in what we are doing.

One final thought, in writing this story and documenting my experience in text and photos, I have created a story. I have engaged in a creative way with my experiences of being in and being with nature. I can now see that I am as much a part of this new ecosystem as the oxeye daisies for without my help as an enabler the wildflower meadow ecosystem would not have come into existence. Not only am we connected in space and time we are connected in a necessary symbiotic way.

Making a Pond in the Woods

18/6/2021

The 3 acre woodland is a wondrous place. In spring it is so green that it hurts your eyes. But it’s also a fearful place when the wind blows and he trees creak and branches fall. Two or three times a year when the winds are high trees either snap or are uprooted. Then we have to get a man skilled in the art of felling trees. According to the London Wildlife Trust who surveyed the wood in 1995, it is likely that it was part of a much larger ancient woodland dating back to medieval times (perhaps 14th century).

The wood provides a lesson in sustainability in so far as it was managed to provide a source of wood for fuel, construction and other uses for hundreds of years. The hazel coppice or underwood was cut back to ground level when it was between 7 and 15 years old and the poles used on the land. The timber trees (mainly ash) were known as standards. They would be felled in their prime when they were between 70 and 150 years old. A substantial number of trees in the wood must be of this age.

Trees identified in a 1994 survey include Ash (dominant), Field Maple, Oak and Sessile Oak, Sycamore, Wild Cherry, and Willow. Shrubs include: Hazel, Elder, Blackthorn, Dogwood, Buckthorn and Buddlieu. There are also climbers – ivy, old man’s beard, sweet byrony, bramble and woody nightshade. The herb layer contains stinging nettle, coltsfoot, forget-me-knot, gromwell, sauide, creeping buttercup, figwort, bedstraw, sedge, cuckoo pint, dogs mercury, burdock, self-heal, medick, penny royal, thistle, sorrel willow herb and bluebell. Fungi include clouded agavic, cramp apple, dryads saddle, antley and pinwheel.

I maintain the pathways by putting wood chip down every few years. It’s a circular path around the edge of the woods and a diagonal path that I cut across the woods. I also collecting fallen branches and make wood piles as a habitat for insects and other small animals.

A spring line rises in the top of the woods within about 5-10m of the northern boundary. When we have had a lot of rain there is surface water and it ponds near the southern edge. Sedges grow in the area that is wettest. It is this area that gave me concern. A few years ago there had been lots of iris along a channel where the water drained but it was now completely overgrown with brambles. So, after a long dry April, I decided to cut and hack my way through the brambles which I burnt. After several days of cutting I cleared a space perhaps 20x20m exposing a big clump of iris once again and a small ditch that had drained the water from the upper part of the woods. By this time it had rained and there was some water in the ditch. With my son I decided to dig a small hole to see if it would fill up with water it did so we set about enlarging it with the idea of making a pond. Over the next week the idea of making a pond, to create a new wildlife habitat and to improve the aesthetic appeal of this neglected patch, took hold. I spent and spent many hours digging in the clay and gradually what was one small pond turned into several small ponds along the ditch line. By the end of the week, after joining some of the ponds together, I had 4 small linear ponds. I lined the edges with dead, moss covered branches and trunks of fallen trees.

The next step was to raise the banks of the pond above the marshy area on each side. Soil is an important resource in any garden project and unfortunately, the only source of soil was in the compost heap by the house over 150m from the woodland pond. This entailed a 300m round trip with the wheelbarrow which I did 2 or 3 times a day for several weeks. I had just learnt the term ‘green gym’ and it seemed like a perfect explanation for what I was doing. I estimated that I must have made this trip about 40 times. Having created raised banks I then set about transplanting ferns, sedges and iris from elsewhere in the woods to create what I hoped would look like a natural feature. In this way I felt I was being true to the existing flora of the woods. But I also added some ferns and herbaceous plants which I bought from the local garden centre. I also visited a specialist pond garden centre and bought half a dozen plants for the watercourse itself – rush, sedge, foregetmenots. A bonus was discovering a common weed growing in my wife’s veggie patch which I was able to uproot and transplant by the pond so that it was no longer a weed but an integral part of the pond and margins ecosystem.

Evolution of the woodland pond – from a muddy puddle to a small scale ecosystem

My most recent act, nearly 8 weeks after I started, has been to sow woodland wildflower and grass seeds along the banks. According to the supplier the mix contains annuals and perennials designed for shaded areas under and around trees including Foxglove, Alyssum, Aquilegia, Balsam, Borage, Campanula, Cornflower, Forget-Me-Not, Geum, Larkspur, Lupin, Poppy, Yarrow. In these ways I am adding a little to the biodiversity of the woods.

After a dry April, when I began my project, and a wet May that realised the concept of a pond, the first half of June turned out to be disappointingly hot and dry. Every day I would carry several watering cans full of water from the tap in the field to water the newly planted plants. The water in the pond slowly disappeared until all that remained was a hard dry surface with desiccation cracks. It made me realise that in order to sustain the pond as a pond I had to do more to make it hold water so I had a go at ‘puddling’ – tamping down the wet clay bottom, after watching a YouTube clip. It did help to retain the water longer but after a couple of weeks with little or no rain the water disappeared. I decided to leave nature alone and let the pond remain ephemeral.

LATER
It's now nearly 6 months since I started the project and the extent to which this landscape has regenerated is plain to see. Where there was once only brambles there is a diverse community of plants. I have just finished seeding the area with iris seeds collected from another pond and I am looking forward to seeing the results next spring.

Celebrating the Oxeye Daisy

10/6/2021

Every year in June I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the Oxeye daisy. I deliberately don’t cut the grass at the edge of the lake from the end of April to the end of June and it allows the Oxeye daisy’s to grow to about a foot. This year I deliberately left the grass uncut over large areas of the garden and the results are spectacular.

The name 'daisy' is thought to come from the Old English 'daes eag' which is thought to mean 'day's eye', after the way in which it opens at dawn. A daisy is actually two flowers in one. The (usually) white petals count as one flower and the cluster of (usually) tiny yellow disc petals that form the 'eye' is technically another. Oxeye daisy is found in meadows and moderately grazed pastures as well as waste ground, railway banks and road verges. It prefers, but is by no means restricted to, well drained, neutral to base rich soils but is absent from wet sites. This daisy is limited in its capacity for vegetative spread and so is reliant on seed for regeneration. Whilst it has the capacity to produce many seeds, which can remain viable in the soil for many years, regeneration from seed does require openings in the sward if its seedlings are to be successful. Oxeye daisy readily colonises open and disturbed ground from seed as a pioneer species, but over the long term only persists in established closed vegetation on sites where potentially more dominant species are kept in check either through lack of soil fertility, or following disturbance such as hay cutting and moderate grazing. The open flower heads of Oxeye daisy attract a large range of pollinating insects particularly bees, butterflies and hoverflies.

Apparently daisy leaves are edible (they're closely related to artichoke and are high in Vitamin C). They have lots of medicinal properties in homeopathy, they known as the are known for their ability to ease an aching back -something I often get. They thrive in generally inhospitable conditions and are resistant to most bugs and pesticides.

But I am left wondering how they came to be here in my garden in such profusion? Have they colonised this space that was originally an orchard by natural means? or were they sown with the grass seed by the person who created this garden 50 to 60 years ago? I will never know? What I do know is that they are also common around the edges of the field so perhaps self-seeding could be the cause of this wonderful display.

Surviving the first few weeks

26/5/2021

This week brought home just how tough it is for animals to survive the first few days after birth. On Monday we noticed a deer in the field and my daughter spotted two tiny heads in the long grass. The next day I only spotted one fawn being suckled and then three days later the doe was by herself.

This year has been unusual for the Canada geese. Because of the turf wars I mentioned in a previous post the dominant pair did not start their laying routines until late into April and it wasn't until this week- the last week of May, that we spotted some goslings. I thought I counted 5 from a distance but the next day there were only 4 and now 4 days after hatching there are only 3. This is most unusual as rarely have we witnessed a pair of geese loosing any of their fledglings. We suspect that it might be the forst time that the pair have tried to rear chicks as they seem less attentive than we have witnessed before.

One week later there were three goslings and after two weeks there were only two goslings. On June 8th left and that evening sitting in the garden I heard the plaintive cry of a lone goose. I looked to find the mother and her two goslings but they had vanished. Whether they had all been taken or the chicks were taken and the mother just left because she had no reason to stay I will never know. But it is the first time in all the years we have been here that we have witnessed such a loss - 5 goslings in two weeks. We can only speculate that the goslings were taken by either the fox that has been quite present this last few days or a heron that has also been ever present. We also think the parents were not as attentive as we have witnessed in the past.

This is the last film clip I have of the family. The garden is strangely quiet today. The geese are such an important part of our annual cycle of life that their absence creates a silence and a loss that seems unnatural - yet such events are as much a part of the natural order as the more prevalent celebrations of life.

May 26 - Today I witnessed a family of magpies - some of whom were too young to fly back into the tree and they were stuck o the ground until they worked out how to get on to the top of the 6 ft fence and thence into the tree. I have no reason to believe that they did not all survive but had there been a predator they would have been eaten I'm sure.

To end this sorry tail my wife was photographing some deer when a fox ran past with a baby rabbit in his mouth. The picture is blurred but it tells the story of the dangers of being young.

It strikes me that surviving the first few days re and weeks quires a good dose of luck and some helpful and competent parents.

POST SCRIPT 11/06/21
Looking out of the window this morning we spotted a deer with her fawn running across the garden. So perhaps this animal baby was both lucky and has a competent caring parent.

Signs of Spring

7/4/2021

Over the last ten weeks I have been watching for signs of spring and this movie records the beautiful emergence and celebration of life. I can't think of a more fitting and uplifting piece of music to play than Vivaldi's 4 seasons - spring - this version by Max Richter.

Turf Wars

19/3/2021

Every year the Canada geese return in late February and begin the messy business of staking a claim to the territory. This year I recorded some of the skirmishes between the dominant pair and intruders. I think o this occasion it might have been three young males who had a go at trying to take over the pond and garden. It's another sign that spring is here.

07/04/21
This year has been unusual because the battle for the territory has been sustained for over 6 weeks. Even now there are two pairs of geese in the garden and everyday there are confrontations. However, One pair does appear to have established themselves on the pond, which means they will soon be nesting on the small island.

Squirrels and pheasants for breakfast

3/3/2021

Over the last few days I have caught the squirrels and pheasants having breakfast on and off the bird table outside our kitchen window.

Garden Notes
My garden keeps me busy and gives me the exercise I need to keep fit, although it does damage me from time to time. But more than anything else it gives me pleasure, happiness and a sense of belonging and of doing something useful and worthwhile. It enables me to express myself creatively and draws my attention to the beauty and ecology of life. In this blog I am telling the story of my garden and my involvement and experiences in it through my writing and the photos, movies, music, paintings and other artefacts - it inspires me to create. I have become more conscious of the UNs Sustainable Development Goals and our important role in enabling their achievement my experiments and projects in the natural world show how I respect and try to understand nature and try to enable life to flourish. I know that one day I will not be the custodian of this beautiful landscape we call our home. I must make the most of it now and preserve its presence in my memory knowing that it will carry on long after I am gone and that someone else will care for it and call it their home.

Useful Links
Wildlife Garden Forum
Surrey Wildlife Trust
Habitat Network
Plant Identification UK
GAIA

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