Landscape and garden expert

Woodland Trust walk and wood finder

I bet you are itching to get out and about this weekend: another minute closed in with dogs and kids is enough to drive anyone to distraction.

If it's fresh air and exercise you are looking for then why not devise a long walk - before or after a hearty Sunday roast - at one of the Woodland Trust's hundreds of woodlands across the United Kingdom?

There are over a thousand sites to choose from - from rich ancient woodlands with gnarled tree roots to brand new plantations.

Rammed Earth is a sustainable landscaping method

'Sustainable' is becoming a very cheap word. It is now so overused that I am finding it hard to distinguish between reality and marketing hype.

There really are too many materials, production methods, packaging and foods that are called sustainable but are clearly costly in terms of resources consumed to get them to market, that their sustainability 'label' is devalued by a lack of carbon neutrality.

I am always on the lookout for methods of landscape construction that would allow the consumption of materials without a high cost or heavy impact on the environment.

The Royal Show signals the end of traditional showground events

The show organiser of GLEE and Saltex should pay careful heed to what the organisers of the 170 year old Royal Show have said as the very last show kicks off at the Stonleigh show ground in Warwickshire.

A BBC news report has just stated that the culture towards the traditional show has changed both geographically and demographically.

Exhibitors are more content with attending much smaller and intimate shows in areas that cater to their specific need.

How to make wild nettle soup

I am going to give the credit for this post to Francoise Murat because she has posted her recipe for making nettle soup on the Landscape Juice Network.

I thought that it would be a good idea, while the topic was still fresh and of course while the nettles were in tip top shape, to have a go at making the soup, trying it for lunch and letting you know, in my honest opinion, what it tasted like.

A pictorial view while walking the dogs

I wish I could produce a scratch and sniff, feel and sense post for you so that you can get some of the atmosphere of my little walk with the dogs in the mornings.

Here are just a few of my views today.

This first picture is of a bumble bee that had taken refuge in a cranny of our outside wall. Looks like it is waiting to warm its wings ready for a foray into the wild.

 

Keeping deer out of your garden with a fence

Having worked in the countryside all of my life I have often come across a lot of gardens that have been all but destroyed by some kind of feeding animal.

Whether it is rabbit or hare gnawing the bark from the bottom of young trees or the leaves from the lettuce in the vegetable patch or woodpeckers or crows tearing up the lawn in search of chafer grubs there is never really a garden that is safe.

Policy changes to boost rural communities

Has anyone noticed a massive shift in the way we are thinking about 'community' as a lifestyle rather than a buzzword on the Internet?

For sure the Internet has shifted away from paying lip service to actually building real communities that encourage expression, intervention, participation and invention.

Local Action Groups to get £3.9 billion boost

Farmers, growers, foresters, rural tourism organisations, businesses and community organisations are being urged to pool their skill resources and share best practice if they are to benefit from a £3.9 billion pound that has been made available for rural areas.

The cash will be channelled through Local Action Groups (LAG's) via small capital grants, strategic investment funding and action plans to safeguard and enhance the countryside, creating new jobs and helping rural communities thrive.

When do Swallows arrive in the UK

Summer would not be summer without Swallows, Swifts and House Martins, swooping low in search of flies, but when should you expect to see the first one in the British Isles?

The RSPB say that the first Swallows should arrive in March (they don't say if that is early or late) as they fly in from their southerly winter feeding grounds.

We have our first Swallow. She (and I am being presumption here) arrived alone in advance of the rest. I expect, if the last four years are accurate as a gauge, for the rest to join her by the end of March.

Sighting the Hen Harrier - Circus cyaneus

I feel a bit of a goon. Having lived here at Jean Blanc for getting on for four years I have often been fortunate to see many birds of prey.

The Common Buzzard Buteo buteo - Black Kite Milvus migrans and Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus are almost daily visitors on our land and the surrounding farmland.

Occasionally I see other small birds of prey, but not being an expert and being unable to take a photograph I am unable to identify what they are.

Every year we have been here I have seen a large white bird of prey in the spring and through the summer.