Finding Nature

 I recently read an article in The Countryman that has irked me more than a little. Titled Access to Nature for All the article made some very relevant points about the benefits of open spaces on mental health and had some valid arguments about making national parks wheelchair friendly etc, but the overriding message was that certain groups are excluded from access to the countryside and Nature in general. Central to my irritation is the idea that Nature is something that is only found in rarefied, far flung places, whereas the truth is that we have a huge amount of `countryside' and nature available to us in the UK. Every city has significant green space. The country is criss-crossed with footpaths. Playing fields have edges of wildness. Country parks are commonplace, with parks such as the Lee Valley Park stretching across vast (mostly urban) areas. If I have missed something, I humbly acquiesce, but it seems to me that the only thing stopping anybody from accessing a bit of nature is a bit of local knowledge. 

And before I get labelled privileged (I am - I know I'm extremely lucky to have a garden and be surrounded by fields)  and out-of-touch, I'd like mention that I spent the first half of my life in South Africa - a vast country where almost all the land is privately owned. There is no such thing as the right to roam and national parks have paid entrance. I have found it an absolute wonder, since I first emigrated to the UK, that there is so much land accessible to the general public. Which is why the article irritated me....and led me to ponder that fact that schools are missing a very big trick: why doesn't every school spend time exploring the parks, footpaths and green spaces that are so prevalent in this country? Surely it should be written into the curriculum. If the school is near farmland, walk the footpaths across the farmland - look for mini-beasts, talk to the farmer about the crops. If the school is urban, walk to the local park - log the wildlife, talk about how we impact our environment. It seems simple and a little education of the greenery and nature around us would (hopefully) educate people about littering (anyone remember those awful scenes of beaches and parks piled high with rubbish after the first lockdown?) and the value of insects and birds. It would mitigate- and perhaps reverse- the relentless march of paved gardens and fake grass. On that topic, have a read of this: The strange death of the English garden | The Spectator

And let every garden centre sponsor a plant for a little child....

Talking of garden centres: I was astonished to see that yarrow, labelled under its posh Latin name achillia millefolium is being sold in the local garden centre at £10 a pot. Gobsmacked! It grows in abundance on just about every verge and self-seeds quite happily into most lawns. I have it in my veg
patch where it arrived all by itself and it grows in great frothy patches alongside the tractor tracks in the local fields. What a canny garden centre! I suppose that, in the year that a garden featuring ragwort won a prize, even erstwhile weeds are having a look in. And all those paved backyards could do with a pot or two of yarrow...

My own garden never ceases to fill me with joy, despite the failed veg crops (will I EVER get a tomato this year!) and onslaught of the super ninja slugs. My latest slug battle revolves around my second attempt to grow cauliflower. Having successfully sprouted a bunch of very robust looking seedlings, I planted the strongest out - only to have them stripped overnight. I tried a different area of the garden. Same story. Then I read an article about growing cauliflower in pots - apparently very viable as they don't have deep roots. Ha-ha, thought I - this will sort out the slugs. So I planted several cauliflower seedling in separate pots in the greenhouse. I think you can probably see the conclusion coming: Slugs 3 - Me 0. On the bright side, I seem to have foiled the pigeons by planting some late beans in a rubble tub in the green house.

After reading yet another gardening piece, I have planted carrots in my second rubble tub. They came up fantastically at first, but have since started disappearing at an alarming rate and there now appear to be about five left. I have no idea what happened to them. On the up side, the cucumber is producing at a rate of knots and my Autumn raspberries are giving me a handful of raspberries a day.

Then there are all the tiny animal wonders. When out tidying last week, my daughter and I were distracted by the antics of a group of little caterpillars on the willow tree. It was easy to give them personalities as some huddled together and others took off on their own. I think they were probably cabbage white caterpillars. Then we were distracted by the tiny toads that we spooked at we mowed - and again by the variety of bees on the lavender.

Not in the garden, but out walking, I was extremely excited to encounter a devil's coach horse beetle. This fiesty little creature looks a bit like an earwig and takes on the stance of a scorpion when it feels threatened. Apparently they are capable of a decent bite too. I've never seen one before, so found the
encounter very exciting (I told the dog - but he was unimpressed).

I have seen a lot more beetles this year than in past years, probably as a result of the wide uptake of No Mow May and farmers allowing the tracks and edges of fields to grow wild. In fact, despite the non-event of Summer, I have seen an abundance of insects this year. Its wonderful! Have a look at this:‘Map of dreams’ reveals scope of English rewilding project - Positive News 

I am extremely lucky to live where I do. I am so privileged to have a garden, to be able to walk through fields. Wherever you are, I hope you have found your patch of green too. Its good for the soul.