{"id":7288,"date":"2020-02-29T17:32:18","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T16:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7288"},"modified":"2020-02-29T17:35:17","modified_gmt":"2020-02-29T16:35:17","slug":"a-lot-more-blossom-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7288","title":{"rendered":"A Lot More Blossom About"},"content":{"rendered":"

By the time you read this there should be a lot more blossom about<\/strong><\/em><\/span>. In mid February we can see the first white splashes in the hedgerows of Blackthorn, from which you get your sloes, and early flowering cherries are popular in gardens. At the entrance to Clos Llanfair is a quite uncommon Purple-leaved Plum or Black Cherry Plum, one of the Myrobalan or Cherry Plum family. This variety is named after Monsieur Pissard, the French Head Gardener to the Shah of Persia, who sent the first one back to France in 1880. This is already covered in blossom which in a good year is followed by plenty of fruit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wild Cherry Blossom<\/em><\/p>\n

Whilst Blackthorn, sometimes called Quickthorn, is abundant in our hedgerows, there does not seem to have been much interest in planting other fruit trees in hedges and it will be some time before we see the next splashes of white; the Hawthorn, also called May blossom for the month in which it traditionally bloomed. One exception is Crab apple which does pop up all over the parish. It is not always easy to spot as it straggles up between the Hazel, Hawthorn and other taller trees but once the apples appear it is difficult to miss. However, in other parts of the country other fruiting trees have been planted which help the hedgerow to be more than just a stock-proofing fence. You have only to drive up to Herefordshire and towards Shropshire to see the masses of Cherry blossom by the side of the road. Faversham in Kent and Harrogate in Yorkshire also have spectacular displays. We have little growing wild in the parish although it has been planted in the Wild Orchard at St Lythans and the trees are already galloping skywards.<\/p>\n

Most people around here will not have heard of Bullace but this wild plum, somewhere between a sloe and damson in size, is much more common in some parts of the country. The Wildlife Group have planted it in the Wild Orchard and in 2019 our jam and preserve expert, Daisy Graze, made Bullace jam which she considered one of the most flavoursome she had made. The real wild pear, Pyrus pyraster, is hardly recorded now in South Wales yet has been around since the Stone Age. You can find it planted on the edge of the Upper Orchid Field and, of course, the Wild Orchard. It can be very difficult to buy so it is hoped that cuttings can be taken and will lead to further plantings around the parish. The Wild Service Tree or Checker Tree is a rare native, samples of which can be seen growing above the cliffs of Jacksons Bay in Barry. The blossom is followed by a fruit like a small pear, often called Chequers and, as they were once used in the beer-brewing process, it is thought this led to many pubs being called Chequers. The tree is particularly good for a variety of wildlife. You can find them in the Wild Orchard but one also grows in the Community Orchard.<\/p>\n

So, enjoy the blossom and the fruit that often follows. Find some space in your garden for these more unusual trees and encourage our Councils to include them in our park and roadside-planting schemes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the time you read this there should be a lot more blossom about. In mid February we can see the first white splashes in the hedgerows of Blackthorn, from which you get your sloes, and early flowering cherries are popular in gardens. At the entrance to Clos Llanfair is a quite uncommon Purple-leaved Plum or Black Cherry Plum, one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-1Ty","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15608,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15608","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":0},"title":"Hedgerows Are Invaluable","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Hedgerows Are Invaluable You can stand anywhere in the village with a view of the countryside, and you will see hedgerows. Along Port Road, Old Port Road and around the school as well. You could be forgiven for thinking they are common and unthreatened. Yet since 1950 the UK has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Guelder-Rose-1-300x260.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12087,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12087","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":1},"title":"\u00a0Seven Green Flag Awards","author":"Alan Williams","date":"5th August 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group \u00a0Seven Green Flag Awards for 2022!! This is a tribute to all involved with the community sites. The landowners - The Reader family and Vale of Glamorgan Council - make it possible. Without the land we would not have the orchards and meadows for everyone to enjoy.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Picture7j-300x242.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16758,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16758","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":2},"title":"Spring Arrived at Cosmeston","author":"Alan Williams","date":"26th March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"LIVING WITH CANCER STROLLERS Spring Arrived at Cosmeston Spring had arrived at Cosmeston. The highlight of the stroll was the wonderful white blackthorn blossom which was in full bloom all around the park \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Living With Cancer Strollers"","block_context":{"text":"Living With Cancer Strollers","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=307"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cancer-Strollers.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12360,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12360","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":3},"title":"Hedgerows – Small But Mighty","author":"Alan Williams","date":"12th October 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Hedgerows - Small But Mighty Described by the Woodland Trust as 'small but mighty' these are 'the most widespread semi-natural habitats in Britain'. We mean, of course, hedgerows. Taken for granted by most people they bring a huge number of benefits as have been described by the Peoples Trust for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Picture10.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15212,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15212","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":4},"title":"Orchard Maintenance Courses","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group Orchard Maintenance Courses Two successful Orchard Maintenance courses have been held; one at Goldsland and the other at the Welsh Orchard, Maes y Felin. A number of our members attended but there were also plenty of keen orchard enthusiasts from elsewhere. The courses are run by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for March 2025"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for March 2025","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=420"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture4-300x290.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2295,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=2295","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":5},"title":"AGM and The Wild Orchard","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd February 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 We held our 10th AGM in January with 28 attending - not many organisations get such a good turnout. However we still need practical help from people who might be able to contribute the odd hour here and there. So if part of your New Year's resolution is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7288"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7291,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288\/revisions\/7291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}