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February Nature Notesby David Tidmarsh - 11:49 on 03 February 2011
Ken’s Nature notes.
Finally I can see new growth in the garden. Peony tulip bulbs, that June planted in the autumn; I thought would never come through, due to all the snow and zero temperatures, are valiantly showing growth, these will be scented when matured and flowering and will be lovely to see and smell.
Hazel catkins are now in full view, these can be seen in the hedgerow of the churchyard, like lambs tails dangling in the breeze, yes sometimes the wild wind does drop to a breeze. Also today I planted out some Hazel seedlings that I had sown in a pot in my garden last year, these have planted into the groups tree nursery allotment, these will grow on for another two years, when they will be replanted. I am extremely interested in planting out as much hazel as I can grow, into the New Lambton Plantation and surrounding areas in the coming years. They are my favourite at the moment, I like the way they can be coppiced and produce some excellent walking stick material, the fruit or nuts mature in the autumn and I usually collect them whilst trimming the hedge, I love planting the nuts and waiting to see if they will germinate in the spring, sometimes you are lucky sometimes not, I have yet to taste the nuts because I am more interested in planting them.
Lots more snowdrops are coming through now, just a few days ago they were like little spears, checking to see if it was safe to open, but they are very hardy little flowers and always seem to survive any late falls of snow.
The hellebores in our garden are producing an excellent show, as the day light hours gradually increase, even though at times they are hard to appreciate as most of the blooms hang downward, but they do have fantastic blooms.
The winter Jasmine is also in full flower showing off its yellow blossom, well in advance of any leaf formation.
After so many plants that have been decimated by the past winter it is a joy to see the survivors winning through.
The sparrows that June has been feeding all winter seem to be very choosey when it comes to peanuts, the fact of the matter is they just refuse to eat any.
The seed on the other hand is much more of a favourite to these picky birds, I understand that only the daring sparrows feast off the feeders as they are situated very close to the house, other years we have had the peanut feeders on the apple tree but unfortunately the Starlings would take over the area with the resulting mess that they naturally leave.
I can remember when I was working on the Lambton Estate, especially during the pheasant shooting season, large scotch pine woodland floors were absolutely covered in the waste from these flocks of starlings that used to roost at night, and the amazing amounts of elastic bands that littered the floor showed what some of the more hungry starlings had mistook a juicy worm. Can you imagine what an effort it must have took to pass a elastic band, wow!
Ken.
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