Thursday 28 March 2013

Spring (and orchids?) cometh!

After a long gap - extended by the bitter weather of late - spring seems near. The first sign was of yellow-jacketed people working in the Park, where relocation of some of the mossy turf (hopefully holding common spotted orchids) from Waterworks Farm was underway. A very enthusiastic group from the Park Friends, SWWG and A Rocha moved turf blocks to both ends of the Park "valley, with more to go around the pond. A few chunks were also inserted into the Morris Homes slope in Brook Wood, where the concrete rubble should be liked by the orchids.
The path through Brook Wood is now looking great at both ends thanks to the efforts of Careforce and others. It was therefore too tempting not to take a walk and look for other signs of spring. See picture below! Below Mill Hill Lane the very first Lesser Celandines were in flower (Pic 1)
as, in Beech Wood was some Gorse and the first Coltsfoot Pic 2). Right by the orchid plantings, a flock of Siskins was feeding. In St Mary's Wood the snowdrop colony is flowering through the carpet of Ivy. And, of course, there's the path (Pic 3)
  - George