Letting the wildflowers grow
Nationwide, verges add up to an area the size of Dorset. A recent study by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Crowmarsh has called for the country’s roadside verges to be managed for nature.
Given that an area of grass with just dandelions can support 93 species of insect, there’s huge potential to support biodiversity. Verges are key for pollinators, in turn feeding birds and other animals.
And it’s not just verges. Larger unmown areas like the overflow cemetery and between the trees on the rec can do wonders for nature too. They’ve been buzzing with bees and brimming with butterflies for several weeks now.
In July or August, when the seeds of any wildflowers have dropped, we’ll cut the hay with scythettes and scrub-clearance tools, ted it (fluff it to allow it to dry) and rake it, then remove it. This will help set the seed for next year. If you’d like to join in, please email kieronhumph@gmail.com
Corridors, networks, mosaics – and a quilt
Say you left the verge outside your house to grow. What good would that do?
If it was the only untended verge, perhaps not a lot, but ecologists talk about the value of even very small amounts of wildlife-supporting habitat (known as ‘patches’) when they form part of a wider ‘network’ – all the wild and less wild green spaces in an area, like woodland, streams, scrub, parks
9
and gardens. Invertebrates, birds and mammals can travel around the network safely when there are established ‘corridors’ such as hedges and verges.
When there are diverse habitats close to each other, for example grassland, woodland and wetland on a reclaimed quarry, that’s a ‘mosaic’ – important because some species need different environments for their life stages or routine activities.
And if the jargon leaves you cold, maybe think of all those untamed strips and corners as contributing to nature’s big, messy, beautiful and original patchwork quilt.
The HUGS team
Progress on Upton Nature Garden
Thanks to everyone who’s shown enthusiasm for the plan to create a wildlife-friendly space beside the village hall. We’re delighted that Upton Parish Council has formally approved the nature garden project.
VPA Cancel Summer Show
The VPA Committee has been required to give serious thought as to whether the Summer Show should go ahead in July, the main concern being the current status of Covid-19. Will it ever come to an end? Things start to look up and then another Variant appears on the horizon. A big worry now is the Indian Variant which is proving more virulent than any other so far. The Government continues discussions on lockdowns, easing, and more recently, suggestions of ending social distancing and no more masks, etc. Many decisions and arrangements will not be confirmed by the Government until the end of June.
Careful consideration has been given by the VPA Committee to various problems. These include the limited time left for the Committee to organise the event, the entrants having only five weeks to prepare their exhibits by the 10th July and most importantly, the currently unknown safety aspects required relating to Covid-19.
It is therefore the decision of the Committee to cancel the 2021 Annual Show.
We will keep everyone updated over the coming months with regard to the future of the Village Produce Association.
A couple of Did You Know? to cheer you up: 1. Dried nasturtium seeds were ground into a powder during the Second World War as a replacement for pepper. 2. Claude Monet (1840-1926) said “I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.”
Eileen
VPA Notice of Summer Show
Whilst writing this article, it’s great that partial lockdown has taken place and we can meet up outdoors in restricted numbers and go shopping again. Let’s hope everyone observes social distancing and we don’t have any spikes of this horrible pandemic again.
Our Spring Bonnet Competition took place in April and it was rather disappointing that, although we had been advised there would be a few entrants – only ONE turned up on the day!! Thank you to Myra, from Chilton, who entered the beautiful bonnet with all the flowers coming from her garden.
We are hoping that the VPA will be able to hold the Summer Show this year. The date is booked in the Village Hall diary for Saturday 10th July. To remind long standing residents and inform newcomers, here are a few details about the event. The VPA Summer Show takes place annually and allows all residents from Blewbury, Upton and surrounding villages to take part in a competition and exhibit their home grown fruit, vegetables and flowers and/or show their cookery, handicraft and photography skills. The details of the various sections are listed in the Show Schedule which will be available next month from the post office or from Margaret Maytham in Upton or on-line via the VPA email address vpa.in.bl.up@gmail.com. Entry into the Show is open to all residents and there is also a Children’s Section. There are lots of trophies to be won in all the different sections of the Show. However, to make a success of the Show we do need your support. Your fruit, vegetables or flowers could prove to be perfect winners! Have a chat with Karen in the Post Office and I can assure you she will tell you that it’s great fun to take part in the Show that has been running for years and years. I’ll include a few more details about the Show next month. As you will appreciate it will have to be organised in accordance with whatever Covid-19 restrictions are still in place in July.
As we couldn’t hold the Show in 2020 because of the pandemic, for this year we will be using the Show Schedule from 2020 which had already been printed.
DID YOU KNOW – In 1813 Thomas Jefferson said: “The soil is the gift of God to the living.” and, Vita Sackville-West (1892 – 1962) said: “The more one gardens, the more one learns; and the more one learns, the more one realises how little one knows. I suppose the whole of life is like that.”
Happy Gardening
Eileen
HUGS Garden Competition and Latest News
Wildlife garden competition
Win a luxury, ethically-sourced hamper or a wildlife garden bundle – and help nature at the same time!
The judges will be looking for garden features that provide shelter, food and water for creatures such as long grass, log piles, ponds and climbing plants. Sensitive management, including capturing rainwater and not using pesticides and slug pellets, will also boost your chances.
You can enter on our website, www.hugsustainability.org, or collect an entry form from East Hagbourne Community Shop. The competition closes on June 6th.
Making visitors feel at home in your garden
Our latest blogpost is about 7 species you might spot in your garden – and how to encourage them to visit. Find out about little owls, house sparrows, bumblebees, bats, hedgehogs, ladybirds and swifts at https://tinyurl.com/vtevuahr.
Solar panel scheme
‘Solar Streets’ is a promotion from installation company IDDEA that offers solar panels at competitive rates. Any Upton household can participate to get a survey – hopefully leading to cleaner energy and reduced bills. Full details on the offer are available at https://solarstreets.co.uk/didcotplus
Spring 3 Village Wild Walk
If you’ve enjoyed the great outdoors during lockdown, why not try our 3 Village Wild Walk? The route, and a guide to what to look for in spring, are available at www.hugsustainability.org/walk.
The HUGS team
Digging with VPA.
There is still time to Create a Flowered Bonnet, Hat, Crown or Tiara and enter the VPA Spring Competition on Saturday 10th April. For details Contact Blewbury Post Office or Maggie Maytham in Upton (850126) or email vpa.in.bl.up@gmail.com or call Eileen on 0777 518 5322
I’m sure everyone has been getting to grips with the weeds, cutting the grass and planning what is going into the veggie plot this year. Here’s some food for thought on how to go about preparing your vegetable plot.
Five reasons not to dig – 1 Digging encourages soil-living creatures like worms to do the spadework for you. 2 It reduces the loss of moisture. 3 It protects the soil structure. 4 It prevents weed seeds being brought to the surface. 5 It’s easier on the back.
Five Reasons to dig – 1 Digging breaks up heavily compacted soil, allowing it to breathe. 2 It kills surface weeds. 3 It exposes pests to predators and the cold. 4 If you don’t, you’ll need a lot more mulch to grow potatoes as you will not be ‘earthing up’. 5 It’s good exercise for those who want it.
I’ve actually tried a semi-no-dig method this year. I’ve hoed the plots and have gone down about four inches. This has loosened the soil and weeded it at the same time I can then go a bit deeper when I start planting, I hope this works –watch this space!
We are hoping that the VPA will be able to hold the Summer Show this year on the 10th JULY – it will depend on what Covid restrictions are still in place. We will keep you informed through the Bulletin.
DID YOU KNOW –Peppers contain up to five times as much vitamin C as oranges. The highest levels are found when the peppers are in the early green stage of ripening.
Eileen
HUGS – Wildflowers and a Garden Competition.
Wildflowers in the Overflow Cemetery
We’re getting ready to sow wildflower seeds along the eastern edge of the overflow cemetery. Upton Parish Council, the landowner, has given the go-ahead for us to carry out a trial sowing this year. We’ve raked out moss and scuffed up the grass (which tends to throttle wildflowers), and we’ll be scattering seed soon.
The mix we’re using contains flowers and grasses including oxeye daisies, field scabious and black medick.
Don’t expect too much in the first year though. In spite of all the preparation the soil will probably still be too fertile for wildflowers to do well. Fingers crossed that’ll come in successive years.
The grass won’t be cut again until the flowers have bloomed and produced seeds.
If the experiment is successful we’ll look at extending the sowing area next year, and maybe planting a hedge to give the space some definition and character.
Chilton Road Closure
As well as giving traffic-free access to the Hagbourne track and beyond, the closure of Chilton Road is proving to be a great wildlife haven. Badgers are active in the hedge, and there are increasing numbers of bird species to be seen. Yellowhammer, reed bunting and firecrest have all put in appearances in the last few weeks. You can check the full list of species on iRecord (www.brc.ac.uk/irecord) – search for ‘Chilton Road survey’.
We’ll be liaising with Wild Oxfordshire and Sustrans to look at how we can make the hedgerow and verges even better wildlife habitats.
Wildlife Garden Competition
We’re launching our search for the most wildlife-friendly gardens in the area on 1st May! The competition is part of our project to support the local owl population.
Our website has ideas and inspiration for wildlife gardening at www.hugsustainability.org/wildlifegardening
Kieron
REAL “Old World Wines” at the Virtual Wine Club
Having taken a few months off, it was great to host another virtual wine club in March. With record numbers joining for this month’s meeting, the feeling was clearly shared amongst our members as well! This month we were trying wines, which in the main, were new to most members. With the support of Strictly Wine, we were given a tour of wines from countries that could really be described as “old world”! Wines had been selected from countries that had been making wine for over 2000 years and in some cases, using methods that had not changed much over that time either!
We tried white wines from Turkey (Kayra Narince 2018); Croatia (Jako Vino Stina “Cuvee white” 2019); Cyprus (Kyperounda “Petritis” 2019) and Georgia (Vachnadziani Qvevri Rkatsiteli 2014). All were very good and more than stood up as an alternative to some of the more well known grapes and wines we might normally pick. If you have never tried an “orange” wine, then the Georian wine was lovely (note, orange wine is very much like marmite – you’ll either love or hate them but definitely worth a try!) All the wines could easily by paired well with some traditional foods, sea foods, creamy pasta’s etc – www.strictlywine.co.uk offer some great suggestions for each one.
The reds again, gave us some wonderful examples of grape varieties that would not normally be classified as main stream! We had wines from Lebanon (Chateau Oumsiyat Desir 2018), Armenia (ArmAs Karmrahyut Reserve 2013), Greece and Republic of North Macedonia (Tikves).The Lebanon wine was a great if you wanted an alternative to a Gamay, lovely slightly chilled and with some warm weather coming, would go down well with the first BBQ of the year! If a rich Australian red is your go to wine, then maybe try the Armenian, which had a little more ageing that brought out some amazing deep fruit flavours. There were wines for all tastes, sausage casseroles, classic BBQ’s and fine steaks!
Next wine club night is on the 21st April. If you are interested to know just a little more about wine (with a large serving of some great social fun), then please take a look at our web site www.uptonwineclub.co.uk or contact our chairman, ian.langley@yahoo.co.uk.
Ian
VPA Spring Competition
Village Produce Association
After the success of our December competition, we’ve decided to hold another one on Saturday 10th April. Have a go at our Spring Competition which is open to anyone of any age.
Create a Flowered Bonnet, Hat, Crown or Tiara.
Rules
The headwear can be any size for a lady or gent, boy or girl.
It can be an existing hat or hand-made and any shape.
Flowers can be fresh or hand-made (NOT artificial bought flowers). Whatever style of headwear it can include accessories.
If you wish to enter, please record your name, address, phone no/email by Wednesday 31st March at either Blewbury Post Office, Maggie Maytham at Toad Hall, Upton (Tel: 850126) or send your details to the VPA email address: vpa.in.bl.up@gmail.com
Place your name and details in an envelope and attach them to your entry.
Bring the entry between 10.00am and 10.30am to Blewbury Village Hall.
Collect at 12 noon.
The winners will be advised of the result on collection of their entry and prizes presented for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. The result will be announced in the next edition of the Upton News.
Covid-19 restrictions/regulations at the time of the event will be strictly adhered to.
For the safety of the Committee organisers the competition will not be open for members of the public to view the exhibits. We will take photographs. If there is a total Government lockdown again at the time of the event, it will have to be cancelled.
If you have any queries or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Eileen Bracken at the VPA email address: vpa.in.bl.up@gmail.com or call on 0777 518 5322.
Eileen
Owl Spotting with HUGS
Our owl project is off to a flying start thanks to help from villagers who’ve been sending in sightings over the winter, and a grant from South Oxfordshire District Council.
Lu Barton, our owl specialist, will be leading the project. The aim is to:
Survey areas in East and West Hagbourne and Upton to find out where owls are active.
Install nest boxes for little owls, tawny owls and barn owls.
Monitor the boxes and share data with the British Trust for Ornithology.
Improving habitat for owls
Owls need a good food supply, so we’ll be surveying the 3 parishes to find areas where we can plant new trees, hedges and wildflowers which will support the food chain.
For example, Upton Parish Council is looking at the idea of sowing wildflowers in the overflow cemetery.
Wildlife-friendly gardening
It’s not just public land that can help support owls; you could create your own wildlife-friendly garden or a wildlife corner. There’s information on how to do this on the HUGS website (www.hugsustainability.org/nature)
We’ll be running a competition to find the best wildlife gardens in the area – details coming soon.
Other ways to help
When you see or hear owls, please send the details to hugsustainability@gmail.com
Include a postcode or use the what3words app on your phone so we can get an accurate location.
Tawny owls will be going quieter for now, while they start nesting. Little owls should start calling from now until late June/July. And from March onwards you might hear the screeching of barn owls until they start nesting too.
You can listen to the different owl calls on the HUGS website: www.hugsustainability.org/owls
Kieron