Category: Nature

Five Orchards To Visit

FIVE ORCHARDS TO VISIT

With 5 orchards to visit, the Wildlife Group is often asked which varieties can be found. A list follows below. Many of the varieties are duplicated so the total number of trees are well in excess of this.

COMMUNITY ORCHARD GOLDSLAND FARM ORCHARD WELSH ORCHARD ELIZABETHAN ORCHARD
Bardsey apple Pen Caled apple Bardsey apple Dr Hervey apple
Bakers Delicious apple Kenneth apple Afal Wern apple Worcester Pearmain apple
Morgan Sweet apple Gabalva apple St Cecilia apple Catshead apple
Ribston Pippin apple Cadwallader apple Pig Aderyn apple Jargonelle pear
Ashmeads Kernel apple Blakeney Red perry pear Channel Beauty apple Black Worcester pear
Grenadier apple Ashmeads Kernel apple Morgan Sweet apple Morello cherry
Claygate Pearmain apple Holstein apple Cissy apple Early Transparent greengage
Tom Putt apple Gwehelog perry pear Nant Gwrtheryn apple Medlar
Victoria plum Gwehelog Red perry pear Machen apple Quince
Mirabelle plum Quince – Meechams Prolific Leathercoat apple Walnut
Greengage Medlar – Nottingham Laxtons Superb apple Filbert
Cambridge gage St Cecilia apple Herefordshire Russet apple Crabapple
Conference pear Cummy Norman apple Afal Prenglas apple Fig – Brown Turkey
Doyenne Du Comice pear Perthyre apple Afal Coch Cynnar WILD ORCHARD
Winter Nells pear Twyn y Sherrif apple Talgarth apple Bullace
Morello cherry Breakwells Seedling apple Penrhyn pear Crabapple
Mulberry – King James 1st Adams Pearmain apple Snowdon Queen pear Wild Pear (Pyrus pyraster)
Quince Pig Aderyn Apple Denbigh plum Wild Cherry
Medlar Victoria Plum Victoria Plum Bird Cherry
Crabapple Denbigh Plum Abergwyngregyn damson Hazel
Filbert Damsons various (inc. Farleigh) Crabapple Cherry Plum
Shepherds Bullace Quince – Meechams Prolific Checkers Tree
Cherry Sunburst Medlar – Nottingham Wild Plum
Cherry Cariad Hazel
Bullace Yellow Apricot

Several trees already have ripe fruit so are worth sampling. You can help yourself but please follow the simple rule of not taking more than half the fruit on any one tree

 

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Goodness Me! Where Has the Time Gone?

It’s so easy to forget about the drought that affected our gardens over the Summer, then the rain came and everything went green and the grass grew like crazy. The borders and pots put on a good early Autumn display. It doesn’t matter how much we water, natural showers bring out the best in our gardens.

Remembering the past few Summers I will be putting in more lavender and roses as they were the best performers in dry conditions. According to our weather forecasters there won’t just be the odd rainy day over the period before Christmas, we’re going to have longer spells of dry conditions then consistent rainfall. As it’s time for moving and dividing plants in the garden, it’s best to wait for rain as this will give them the best chance of survival. The dahlias have really come into their own in the last month or so and will only need to be cut back and lifted after the first frost.

The TV gardeners are telling us to scatter spring bulbs on the lawn and plant them where they land. That’s ok if you’ve got acres of grass that you don’t care about, but on a lawn which is kept neat it’s going to ruin the appearance when the bulbs have finished, and you’re left with the remnants of a short-lived display that will take ages to disappear. Just put some in pots and place them where you need them and when they are done hide them in a corner for next year.

Skimmia’s have proved to be an excellent plant for a display that lasts from early Autumn through to Spring, they particularly look good in pots.

The Village Show proved that gardeners are resilient and although some of the veg was small, it was perfectly formed. Veg judge Bernard thought that considering the weather, entrants had done well. There’s always a show off; Nicola H had a marrow that had obviously been fed steroids and Isaac, on his first attempt, impressed the judge with his giant entry. Kelly S is another who won’t be beaten. Her longest bean winner had the look of something from medieval times that had been put on a rack! Thanks to everyone for taking part.

On the vegetable plots, runner beans, which were looking drab during the Summer, really took off when the rains came and had a prolific September. To give the beans a good start next year, dig a trench and throw any waste from veg in the bottom. This will help hold the moisture in. Then the week before you plant the beans add some fresh grass clippings and cover with soil. The heat from this will give the plants a flying start.

Planting over wintering peas, broad beans, onions and garlic now will give you early crops.

Take care and happy gardening

Shady Took This Honour Seriously

VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT GROUP

Shady Took This Honour Seriously

On a damp Autumn morning, the team cleared the footpath on the other side of the cattle creep.Some of the team arrived late because of appointments. But as you can see, all turned out for the photo in their new camouflage outfits donated by You Can’t Catch Me.com

We were so proud that one of our team had been chosen to judge at the Village Show. Shady took this honour seriously and with strict criteria he adjudicated at the preserve table. Misspelled and wonky labels got marked down before tasting. After choosing the winner, he was aghast to find the rosette for first place was blue not red. Being from Edwardville, where the only thing blue up there is a bruise, he just couldn’t fathom it. So has resigned!

 

Bug Hotels in the School Wildlife Patch

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Bug Hotels in the School Wildlife Patch

We are indebted to Mike and Glenys for raising £1,256 for WWG through the Village Show. Our thanks also to all who attended the event, took part by entering, the organisers and all who contributed raffle prizes. The money will go towards buying plants and trees, installing Bug Hotels and Hedgehog homes, working on school projects and paying for tools and equipment.

We have been erecting replacement Bug Hotels in the School Wildlife Patch, spreading wildflower seed and strimming back the grasses. The area around the Holland Pond has been cleared, along with the Orchards and Watercress Beds. We have two leaflets; one showing the locations of the orchards and the second covering the Upper Orchid Field. Both are available from dispensers on the notice-board by the Church Hall.

With the recent anniversary of 9/11 we can report that our White Swamp Oak, grown from acorns gathered at the 9/11 site is doing well. As it gets larger and is more robust, we will be able to publicise its location. The acorns were gathered when it was permissible but if you plan to bring back any acorns or other seeds from abroad these days it is best to check with Government websites on what is allowed.

 

A Successful Fruit Tree Pruning Course

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

A Successful Fruit Tree Pruning Course

Another successful fruit tree pruning course has been held at the Wenvoe Community Orchard. Arranged by the Vale Local Nature Partnership team and run by the Orchard Project. This is a great opportunity to share our orchard with visitors and to get our trees pruned in the process. Courses are free.

We have arranged for the Watercress Beds, Orchard and Bee Loud Glade and all at Goldsland to be strimmed. The hedge behind the School Wildlife Patch has been cut back. The planters in the Nursery section of the school have been kept going despite drought and school closure, with good crops of Spinach, Tomato and Curled Parsley.

Turned Up With His Arm In A Sling

VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT GROUP

Turned Up With His Arm In A Sling

 

On a beautiful late summer’s morning the team cleaned up at the community centre in preparation for the Village Show. A fair turnout, considering the heat and the age of some of the participants. Old soldier John just shows the attitude of the team by turning up with his arm in a sling and got on with the job.

Alan and Ieuan recently celebrated their 88th birthdays and are still active members of our unit. It proves that getting out and about and mixing with others is such a good thing to do. Their generation were brought up to do the right thing, and this rubs off on the people they meet. They have a tendency to tell of their exploits in the Second World War and how they enlisted when they lied about their age. They were two!! It must have been tough back then.

Goodness Me! Where Has the Time Gone?

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Goodness Me! Where Has the Time Gone?

I’m now planting daffodils in pots ready to put into borders so that when they’ve finished flowering, I can remove the pot, give them a foliar feed and then let them die back in a quiet corner ready for the next season. Big jobs now include cutting back and separating larger clumps of perennials to give us more plants. Sweet pea seeds should be sown now for earlier plants next year. This is a good way of avoiding the hottest times next year as the later plants this year couldn’t cope in the long dry spell.

Please consider what has gone on over the last few years with the long dry spells before ordering plants for next year. Pelargoniums, herbaceous geraniums and bedding begonias are, as I said last month, a better option. The plants in gardens that have stood proud this year, have been the roses. Only once did I water the ones in our borders. The RHS are considering moving all their Hydrangeas further north, which is fine for a big organisation like them but for us we need to think carefully before purchasing any.

The extreme weather would have left the lawns weak and prone to the durable weeds which, during August, were the only bits of green on the lawn. When we do have some rain the grass will need an autumn feed and weed. Do not use the summer feed which is the full of nitrogen that will promote top growth when what we need to encourage is root growth.

At a large house in St Andrews the staff planted runner beans along the South facing border adjacent to the house on 8ft canes, and with the watering this has kept the ground floor relatively cool. By the time they’re taken down we should be in cooler weather.

After last year’s glut of fruit, especially apples, damsons and plums, this has been a fallow year. There have been some plums, but they are quite dry due to the hot spells. What fruit the trees did produce has come early as the trees are stressed and are getting ready for Autumn at least a month early. The fruits that have produced well are figs, gooseberries and blackberries that were ready to eat at the beginning of July. Blackberry thorns seem to thrive whatever the weather.

There have been cases of sudden limb drop from trees due to stress. This is a rare occurrence, but we are advised not to sit under older trees in hot spells. You will have noticed that this year a lot of trees young and old have branches that have died. This is all down to the trees cutting off life to a limb to save itself.

A tip from a lady in Sully to ease the itching from bites and stop the blighters before they prey on you, is to rub Vicks VapoRub on. It works brilliantly.

Take care & happy gardening.

Why It Has Not Been Removed

WHY IT HAS NOT BEEN REMOVED

If you happen to see the School Wildlife Patch you will see plenty of Ragwort growing in the grass. Some might throw up their hands in horror and ask why it has not been removed.

Probably more than any other plant it has been demonised but why is this? The first claim is that it is poisonous to livestock, particularly horses. But cattle have been grazing fields with Ragwort since time immemorial as Ragwort is not a new plant to the UK. It is unpleasant to eat so animals will avoid it along with Foxgloves, even Buttercups. True it can be dangerous if included in a hay crop as it is harder to detect, hence advice that farmers should remove it in these circumstances but otherwise it should create few problems. Some believe it is poisonous to humans but, again, you would have to eat a lot of it to incur any symptoms, and you would have to be pretty desperate to consume it in the first place.

But it also has a huge benefit for wildlife as many who have seen them covered in Cinnabar Moth caterpillars can confirm. Interestingly, the caterpillar is poisonous but gets poison by eating the Ragwort. It supports over 200 species of invertebrates providing a nectar source in late summer for bees, butterflies and hoverflies when other sources may become limited. So if you have a wildlife patch consider tolerating the odd Ragwort.

Shady Came on His Shetland Pony

VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT GROUP

Shady Came on His Shetland Pony

 

On a beautiful sunny morning the team, although short in numbers, cleaned up around the village green and concentrated on the area around the memorial.

As you can see by his stance, Shady (2nd left) came to the event on his Shetland pony.

Gareth dragged the Rector along to give us some words of encouragement.

‘God will provide’, he said, and low and behold a spare green bag blew into view.

The Williams family were missing today because elder Ieuan had a scan in preparation for a knee operation and they found a sixpence from a Christmas pudding some 80 years ago, lodged inside him. He now wants it back and is refusing to leave the private hospital until it’s retrieved. Due to people trying to leave the group over the years, we’ve adopted the Ian Moody concept, where you could only resign at an annual general meeting, then we wouldn’t hold one. So, once you’re in, that’s it.

Our next meeting on 10th of August will be at the Community Centre, to tidy up before the Wenvoe Village Show on Saturday 29th August. Every member of the group has promised to enter an item in the show, except Shady, as he is one of the judges

Another Successful Year

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Another Successful Year

Another successful year as we are awarded 7 Green Flags, just over 3% of all the Community Awards in Wales. Sites involved are the Upper Orchid Field, Community Orchard, Elizabethan Orchard, Wild Orchard, Welsh Orchard, Bee Loud Glade, Goldsland Orchard and Watercress beds. Our thanks to all the members who have worked so hard to get the sites in tip-top condition, the site owners and all residents who support the group.

We have widened the paths around the Upper Orchid Field and created some new ones. Whilst this makes for easier walking it also provides an opportunity for wildflowers that prefer shorter grass to flourish. Our project with the School creating a vegetable and herb garden for the Nursery children has gone well with Radish, Spinach and Peas harvested and the children really enjoyed digging up potatoes.

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