All About Our Orchards
All About Our Orchards
What distinguishes the Welsh Orchard (Maes y Felin) from our other community orchards? 
Well, this year it has more fruit coming along than all the others put together. And why might that be? One major factor has got to be that it has bee hives and the others don’t. All the orchards had a mass of blossom but unless insects are around to ensure pollination takes place then the fruit will not follow. For instance the Community Orchard on the Playing Fields is surrounded by little in the way of flowers – the odd daisy and that is about it – so there is nothing to attract pollinators. In contrast, at the Welsh Orchard we have had to cut off some branches which are so heavily laden with apples that there is a risk of the branch tearing off or even the tree toppling in a high wind.
Lockdown continues to limit what we can do but individuals and couples have been helping out when they are able to. Visitors to the Welsh and Elizabethan Orchards will have noticed that the grass has been cut, thanks to the landowner and farmer Robert Reader. Strimming, brush-cutting and weeding has continued and noticeboards refurbished and painted, our main problem being getting the wood treatment products that are currently in short supply or exorbitantly priced.
One positive development has been the number of residents sending in photos of wildlife they 
have come across which we have managed to identify in most cases. These include wildflowers, insects, beetles and moths and you can see many of them if you look at our Facebook page – Wenvoe Wildlife Group. Not only is it satisfying to identify the species but these are also recorded on the Biodiversity database for South East Wales. One of our wildlife cameras located by a small pond we installed at the beginning of the year saw a procession of birds, bathing, drinking and squabbling and including Wrens, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Chiff-chaff and Jay. Particularly during the hot, dry spell it was a hub of activity in the day and at night frequented by Rabbits and Field Mice. The photo is of an Ichneumon Wasp spotted locally.