Category: Nature

Six Green Flag Awards

Six Green Flag Awards

Six Green Flag awards was our tally for this year putting us well ahead of any other village in the UK and with more awards than most towns. The Green Flag Award programme is delivered in Wales by environmental charity, Keep Wales Tidy, with support from Welsh Government. It is judged by green space experts, who volunteer their time to visit applicant sites and assess them against eight strict criteria, including biodiversity, cleanliness, environmental management and community involvement. Our success is down to our few active volunteers and the support of the landowners, the Reader farmers and the Vale of Glamorgan Council. The sites now include the Upper Orchid Field, Community Orchard, Elizabethan Orchard, Wild Orchard, Welsh Orchard and now, Goldsland Farm. Why not visit some of them during August? We have led two guided walks so far this year and plan to do more.

Thanks are due to the Village Hall Committee for donating their old noticeboard to the group. With some adjustments and refurbishment, we plan to put the noticeboard up at Goldsland Farm either in the orchard or the new Pollinator Patch. We had fine weather for our Poisonous Plants walk with visitors from Barry and Cardiff joining Wenvoe residents.We would have had more but on a day when Culverhouse Cross was gridlocked, Five Mile Lane virtually impassable and the road past Dyffryn House closed, several gave up and went home. A pity as the weather was ideal.

We found 8 poisonous plants and trees in the middle of Wenvoe and a further 24 in the hedgerows and orchards. Whilst cases of poisoning are very rare, they do still happen often to children and those foraging so it is as well to know your plants.

One of the least pleasant tasks we undertake is to empty the dog-poo bin on the Upper Orchid Field. Dog-owners are very good at making use of the bin and the field has very little litter on it. The bin contents are emptied into bins in the village which are collected by the Council although they will not empty the bin on the field. Although we have been doing this for 8 years there have been instances recently where we have been challenged by local residents who presumably assume we are depositing household rubbish in the bins – hopefully now you will understand what we are doing and why.

 

 

Your Garden Tasks For August

 

July saw the passing of Dorothy Miller at her home in Grange Avenue. Dorothy was, at the time, the oldest resident born in Wenvoe. She worked at Anstee’s Nurseries, now Pughs Garden Centre, where they propagated roses and sold the cut flowers. Dorothy was known there as the rose queen. Dorothy had an allotment for many years and believed that most ills could be kept at bay by using herbs and plants found in hedgerows. This belief certainly worked for her as she was 97 when time finally caught up with her.

 

RHS tips for August.

  1. Prune wisteria.
  2. Don’t delay Summer pruning of fruit trees trained as restricted forms.
  3. Dead head flowering plants regularly.
  4. Water regularly, particularly new plants and those in containers.
  5. Collect seeds from plants.
  6. Harvest sweetcorn and other veg as it becomes available.
  7. Continue cutting old fruit canes on raspberries.
  8. Lift and pot up strawberry runners.
  9. Keep ponds and water features topped up.
  10. Feed the soil with green manure.

Slugs and snails are well known enemies of gardeners. The old slug pellets are to be banned from use next year because they contain metaldehyde which is water soluble and pollutes water courses and is harmful to wildlife. The new pellets contain ferric phosphate which will degrade harmlessly into the soil. There are numerous tricks that people who tend the soil have been using to deal with these pests. Egg shells around plants do not work, the same goes for copper foil strips. You would need a strip of copper 6” wide for it to work, then some scallywag would, no doubt, relieve you of it. If you decide to catch the molluscs alive don’t just throw them over into next door’s garden as they will be back. Apparently you have to take them at least 20 metres away as their homing instincts only cover short distances. Trials have shown that beer traps work well but you should empty regularly as they smell awful if left. A piece of wood or slate left on the soil will allow cover during daytime, check underneath before dusk then dispose of the little blighters as you see fit. When watering the borders you should only water the ground close to the plants as slugs and snails find it harder to cross dry soil.

Our milder climate means that we have a longer flowering season, especially with Roses. When dead heading your Rose bush or climbing Roses don’t be afraid of cutting back a bit further on spent stems to a healthy bud and you will get more flowers this year. Rambling Roses are different and will only produce flowers next year on this season’s growth. All side shoots that have flowered can be cut back to one or two buds.

August is a good time to take cuttings of your favourite perennials, over-winter these young plants

under glass if you can. One of the RHS star plants for this time of year is the Japanese Anemone. They say it can be invasive but is easy to control. Don’t believe it. You will be pulling up offshoots from this plant for ever.

We must continue to weed around our plants. While doing this look out for self seeded plants and pot them up. They may not come true to the original but will help fill the borders next year.

Take care and happy gardening.

 

 

 

Clutching our maps, proudly wearing our Wenvoe Open Garden stickers and not going very far in the lovely summer sunshine before stopping to say ‘Hello’ to friends and neighbours, we all enjoyed a wonderful afternoon.

The sense of community had been evident since Brian and Sandra Jones suggested Open Gardens in Wenvoe and started carefully planning for the event earlier this year in aid of St Mary’s Church Building Fund. ‘The Village Gardener’ gently encouraged and cajoled, and last week twelve keen gardeners and their families warmly welcomed visitors of all ages.

Here was an opportunity for people to enjoy the diversity of the gardens and to see how the simplest ideas could be effective in a garden of any size. Photographs, written information and personal anecdotes about the history of individual gardens, added another dimension. People were generous with their knowledge about what plants to grow, how water features had been constructed and how to balance the often-eclectic mix of flowers, herbs and vegetables; their modesty about such beautiful gardens and their honesty about the pleasure taken from daily and seasonal care, was an inspiration to the visitors.

Brian and Sandra would like to thank everyone for contributing to the success of Wenvoe Open Gardens. A very special thankyou to the gardeners and their families who opened their gardens to visitors, and to Rachel from St Andrews Road who was the first person to support Brian and Sandra and add her garden to the list. Thank you to Mike Tucker who encouraged all the gardeners, gently soothing some through last minute nerves. By advertising the event in the ‘Barry Gem’, Mike and Glenys also ensured that many visited the village from the Vale of Glamorgan. Thankyou both for this. Carol, the Church Social Committee and the neighbours in St Andrews Road also have a very special thankyou for providing cakes and refreshments in the Church grounds and at 7, St Andrews Road. Both these venues provided a welcome opportunity to take a break and meet up with friends.

Rachel said: ‘It has also been a pleasure to meet the other hosts, especially Brian and Sandra, to share our love of gardening with each other and to make new friends in the village’. Rachel’s daughter pictured here certainly enjoyed helping out and keeping an eye on the lovely cakes that had been kindly donated.

Everyone will be delighted to hear that the contribution to St Mary’s Church Building Fund will be somewhere in the region of £1,500.

 

 

The greatest pleasure for Brian, Sandra and all the gardeners involved, however, was the enjoyment that this well organised event created for so many people.

Congratulations Brian and Sandra on the success of Wenvoe Open Gardens!

 

 

To Do List For July

RHS to do list for July

  1. Check clematis for signs of clematis wilt.
  2. Arrange care for house plants while on holiday.
  3. Keep tubs and pots watered, but be water wise.
  4. Dead head bedding plants and repeat flowering perennials.
  5. Pick courgettes before they become marrows.
  6. Treat apple scab.
  7. Clear algae and blanket weed from ponds.
  8. Order catalogues for next year’s Spring flowering bulbs.
  9. Give the lawn a quick acting Summer feed.
  10. Time to harvest apricots, nectarines and peaches.

To keep the garden full of colour we need to dead head regularly. Hardy geraniums can be cut back to ground level with a pair of shears. Delphiniums and other taller perennials should have their flower spikes cut back to encourage new shoots. Annuals like pansies and petunias can be cut back a little to stop them looking straggly. Give all the plants a feed and water and you should have new displays later in summer. After flowers have faded on irises they can be divided as larger clumps don’t tend to do so well. Smaller sections will give a better display If you still have gaps to fill in with summer bedding then this needs to be done promptly, to allow time for plants to flourish. When removing the spent blooms of roses make sure you prune back to a bud in a leaf axil lower down the stem to make sure they flower again this year. Bulbs that have been heeled in to allow foliage to die back can be dug up and dried out ready for planting in the autumn.

The RHS has some good advice on making sure your runner beans are successful. Add a small handful of hydrated lime to a full 10 litre watering can and apply this along the base of the row, it will help the flowers set and produce more pods. Always put on gloves and wear a face mask when using lime, but it will be well worth the effort.

Earlier in the year quite a few people had problems with their lawns. Mrs Harvey of Gwenfo drive set about making her lawn good again by improving the drainage and careful feeding, which has worked wonders. We now have a lawn expert in the village. Opposite Mrs Harvey are Mr & Mrs Cottle who are recognised for their rose garden, worth a look as you walk by.

Ponds at this time of year are covered in algae and blanket weed. This should be removed as it starves the water of oxygen. Peter Ferris of Old Market, a renowned amateur naturalist, says we should leave algae and blanket weed on the side of ponds to dry out so that any pond life can return to the water.

This month will see some Wenvoe gardens open to the public to help the ongoing commitment to keep the church looking its best. There will be quite a contrast of gardens on show from the cottage garden to modern design. One absentee this year will be Carol Whylie’s wildlife retreat. There are sections of this ladies garden that have been used to make nature programmes. As they will still have cameras set up we have been denied access this year. Carol herself will be present at the church on the day [20th July] handing out the passes and answering your queries on wildlife habitats.

Take care and happy gardening.

 

 

Surviving the Drought

 

During June last year we were having to spend time getting water to our newly planted fruit trees and all but one survived the drought. This year has been a different story with the wet weather causing considerable growth in the weeds and grasses. So it has been a case of strimming and weeding non-stop. We took part in Open Farm Sunday down at Goldsland Farm where we had a regular stream of children doing drawings, making daffodils and stick people, and decorating their work with stickers. An example of a rather fine Dragon is shown in the photo.

And congratulations to Abi Reader for being recognised in the latest honours list. A leaflet showing the locations of the orchards should be out during July. We shall soon be starting work on the new Pollinator Patch and the school are hoping to take part in the planning, planting and maintenance of the site

 

 

Return of the Oxeye Daisies

 

Visitors to the Upper Orchid Field may have noticed that we are beginning to see the return of the Oxeye Daisies. People who remember the field over 50 years ago often comment on the fact that Oxeye Daisies carpeted the slope. They are still only there in small numbers but hopefully we can expect to see swathes of them in future. They can spread through a creeping underground rhizome but we shall try to help them spread by scattering seed from other plants in the vicinity.

They are commonly referred to as Dog Daisies but have many other wonderful names such as field daisies, Marguerite, moon daisy, moon-penny, poverty daisy and white daisy. They are good for bees and other insects as they produce a lot of pollen. We haven’t tried this and are not recommending it but sources say that the leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, the young shoots added to soups and salads and unopened buds pickled like capers.

These flowers have been largely driven out of our meadows with the use of herbicides but are quick to colonise road-side and motorway verges which tend to be unsprayed.

 

 

A New Home for Pollinators

 

Our latest project involves a piece of land made available to us by the Reader family which we shall use to benefit pollinators – bees, butterflies and other insects. We are all aware of how serious the future is for those insects which help to pollinate crops, flowers and fruit trees so we shall be planting trees, shrubs and wildflowers that are particularly beneficial to them. If you are concerned about the future of the planet you are very welcome to get involved with the project either as an individual, a family or a group. Just get in touch with us and we can discuss what you could do – the photo shows one tree we shall be planting which is so good for bees that it is called the Bee Bee Tree! We have already had our first donation from Mike and Glenys Tucker and that will go towards a couple of these trees.

On 29th June we shall be leading a walk looking at poisonous plants in the countryside so if you fancy coming along just turn up outside the Village Hall at 1pm. The walk will be around 4 miles and will include visits to the Elizabethan and Welsh orchards. Dogs welcome but there will be some stiles they will need to navigate.

Green Flag judging took place in May so we hope that we will be able to boast 6 Green Flag sites this year. The Easter Egg trail took place, but we had very few children doing it so will not be repeating this in future years.

Open Farm Sunday is on 9th June at Goldsland Farm and the Wildlife Group will be leading a couple of walks into the surrounding countryside – a short walk in the morning for families and a slightly longer one in the afternoon. Check our Facebook pages for updates and times.

 

 

Plan Your June Activities

 

RHS top tips for this month.

  1. Hoe borders regularly to keep down weeds.
  2. Be waterwise.
  3. Harvest salads and early potatoes.
  4. Position Summer hanging baskets and containers outside.
  5. Pinch out the side shoots on tomatoes.
  6. Mow the lawn every week.
  7. Plant out Summer bedding.
  8. Stake tall or floppy plants.
  9. Prune Spring flowering shrubs.
  10. Shade greenhouses to help with cooling and to avoid scorching.

New evidence says that we started cultivating some 23,000 years ago. The one thing that has not changed in all that time is the need for weeding. Hoeing regularly will stop the weeds getting the upper hand. Magnolias need be cutback now. Severe pruning of Rhododendrons should be left until Springtime. You can take softwood cuttings of Fuchsia and Hydrangea now. Rose enthusiasts take some of the buds off their plants to increase the size of the remaining blooms, but I wouldn’t have the heart to do that. If you want to grow your own Spring bedding for next year you need to start sowing now with favourites like Pansies and Wallflowers. With the warm weather and long days pests and diseases are abundant. Treat as soon as any become apparent. We must also take care of ourselves and wear hats along with sunblock. There has been a lot in the news of late about the effects of pesticides on the environment. The UK has strict laws on what we can use, so please read the label and only use recommended doses when justified.

Great to see so many of you at the WI table-top sale in May. Some of the questions put to me about growing veg would be best answered by the one and only Mr Gordon Jones. Just form an orderly queue outside the library when Mr Jones is in residence. It has been brought to my attention that another library volunteer, Clare Ellis, is an expert on Clematis.

Many of us will have an unkempt part of the garden. You are helping nature by letting it take care of itself. The Wenvoe Wildlife Group will love you for it. This group does brilliant work in and around Wenvoe and if you could lend a hand a warm welcome awaits you.

July sees some of Wenvoe’s gardens open to the public and this venture is being led by Brian and Sandra Jones. We have at last managed to get the one and only Gerry Crump on board. If you want to see how to prolong an active life please go along to see Phylis and Gerry’s garden.

Take care and happy gardening

 

 

Pollinators Are In Serious Decline

Pollinators Are In Serious Decline

Everyone knows that pollinators, i.e. insects that pollinate our flowers and crops, are in serious decline and we are being encouraged to do everything possible to help them, not least by planting flowers, shrubs and trees that can supply accessible pollen. Typical of the advice that you will find in magazines and the media is that good plants for pollinators are:

Lavender

Dahlia

Wallflower

Borage

Foxglove

… and if you planted these you would certainly be helping wildlife. However it is worth looking beneath the surface as no two lists agree and there is seldom any indication of what research has been done to reach these conclusions.

We have three main types of bee in this country. First Honeybees, possibly not native but producing honey and living in colonies. Next Bumblebees with which we are all familiar as they are usually large, furry and highly visible. Then there are the Solitary bees of which there are 225 species in Britain. As the name suggests these do not live in hives but individually and you will often see them using our bee hotels. Which raises the next question – do all these types of bees use our recommended plants in equal measure?

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A five-year research programme by Rosi Rollings has found marked differences in bee preferences. Amongst the garden flowers most visited by Honeybees are Veronicastrum virginicum (Culvers Root) and Sedum spectabile (Ice plant) yet these are largely avoided

 

by Solitary bees. However the latter love Anthemis tinctoria (Golden Marguerite) which is studiously ignored by Honeybees and Bumblebees and also Campanula (Harebell) which is seldom visited by them. Bumblebees will go for Echium vulgare (Vipers Bugloss) but Solitary bees will not go out of their way for them.

So if you want to favour one category over another you can find more detail on what plants to go for in Rosi’s website -www.rosybee.com. Or you can simply take the top five irrespective of bee type which are:

Geranium Rozanne

Calamint

Helenium autumnale

Eryngium planum

Helenium – Sahins Early Flowerer

Remember to factor in the seasons ideally providing a range of plants that will offer pollen from Spring through to Autumn and finally note that the bees are not remotely interested in whether the plants are native species or not.

 

 

Wildflower Beds and Orchard Maintenance

 

Year 1s from Gwenfo CW Primary School joined us to spread the wildflower seed on our bed in Grange Park. You can see their personalised labels in the ground on their chosen patches. We were lucky with the weather which meant that for the first time they could choose an area anywhere on the bed rather than having to stick to the perimeter. We are using a different brand of seed mix this year so it will be interesting to compare results. It is not an ideal site as it is shaded by the pines and Horse Chestnuts which are still growing but we have spent many hours preparing the site so, fingers crossed!

Penarth and Sully Scouts spent a couple of hours up at the Goldsland Orchard and worked very hard. They cleared rocks and stones from the ground and then scattered a wildflower meadow mix under the trees. They also cut back the branches of over-hanging trees and created log and brush piles. They saw plenty of wildlife including a frog, Bluebells, Wood Anemones, Yellow Archangel and plenty of lichens. Robert Reader has installed a fence around the orchard to keep the inquisitive cows at bay and we have erected some bug hotels on wooden posts. The warm weather over Easter certainly brought out the solitary bees in numbers so it should not be long before the new hotels are in use.

We continue to have thefts from the Community Orchard on the Playing Fields – this time a newly-planted Victoria Plum. The Police have been notified and any relevant images from the wildlife cameras will be forwarded.

 

 

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