Changes to Base Camp One in my small Devon wood

Base Camp One stood at the top of the curving track once used to bring stone down from the quarry. A flat and even area of no more than 20' squ covered in bluebells and wild garlic, it faces to the west and overlooks the roof of the cottage below. Looking across the river valley it's level with the lane running parallel to our road, the tree line is just above that and then just sky. There's a substantial beech tree, a younger one, two mature oaks and a large hawthorn. These trees are handily placed apart to make good places to stretch tarps and the hammock between them. The ground behind slopes upwards in a steep gradient to the top of the hill, covered in wild garlic, orchids and bluebells. The trees are mostly beech and ash. There are 2 concrete block water tanks once used to provide water for the cottage. The inlet pipes are blocked but we will try to get the water flowing into the tanks again at some point. The area was Jarvis-proofed last year with hazel hurdles forming an effective enclosure to stop him letting his nose lead him through our neighbour's adjacent woods to goodness knows where.

How to rebuild Base Camp One.

Step One - get a chair and table up there, sit down and admire the view.

Step Two - abandon the chair for a comfy rest against the beech tree with the dogs and think about  what needs to be done. Have a nap whilst visualising the new structure.

Step Three - to be continued.

Wild flowers in my small Devon wood (1)

On our twice-daily walks in the woods it's been really satisfying looking out for the changes to the flowering plants as they emerge, grow, bud and finally flower. We don't have any particulalry rare on exotic species: just typical English native woodland plants. We do have a problem invasive species or two and the plan is to contain and gradually eradicate. A bit like you would a virus...

I enjoy the beauty of the ordinary and the camera Chris gave me for xmas enables me to see how the ordinary or common can be far from that notion.

The lovely primrose

The primroses have been prolific throughout the woods and a constant presence for the last couple of months. Most are the typical pale yellow but some are almost pure white. Even though the wild garlic currently dominates, the primrose has literally held its ground whether on the banks in full sun or on shaded stony ground it has been a constant pleasure to see.

A solitary Wood anenome

 Taking up residence at the end of May 2019, we missed the spring flowering and had to wait until this spring to see what flowers we would have. We hoped for Wood anenomies but it looks as though there haven't been any. The solitary specimen pictured opposet was one of 5 I planted last autumn. Most did survive and 2 of them flowered but one had its stem nibbled and we lost the flower. The plan is to grow more. It's an ancient woodland indicator plant - why? This is becasue it spreads slowly through root growth rather than seed dispersal at the rate of 6ft every hundred years. https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/wood-anemone

Lesser Celandine

 The Lesser celandine is one of my favorite woodland flowers, especially when they proliferate and carpet the woodland floor. Although they appear to be in most areas of the wood, they have flowered at various times and also probably due to the competition from other prolific plants, thery haven't dominated any one area to provide that carpet of yellow.

Violet

In our first summer here we saw a couple of Fitilary butterflies in the garden and I hoped that meant we would have violets in the woods as this is the larval food plant. It's been pleasing to see that we have small patches of these. If I can give them a little space of their own by clearing away some of the more dominant plants we should be able to get a better showing next year and maybe give more encouargement to the Fitilaries.

On the topic of dominant plants in the woods, the bramble, dogs mercury, wild garlic and the non-native   Variagated Yellow Archangel (see pic opp). The Dog's Mercury is not a pretty plant and the dog's do like to nibble it, particularly Honey. We are trying to control it but it has long roots that break easily and regrow. The bramble had taken hold in many areas of the wood and we had a major clearing job in the winter that created space and light for other species to grow. They will return but we just have to keep them under control and not let them get so bad again. The wild garlic is a joy of course. 

The Variagated Yellow Archangel is a nuisance, spreading by means of runners that then root. Thankfully it's shallow-rooted and can be pulled up by hand. I've recently started clearing a large area of it and every day do a little bit around the edges to stop the spread. If this isn't done it will take over and prevent the native species from growing. Shame as it's a pretty plant.https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/variegated-yellow-archangel

Greater Stitchwort

One of the plants I wasn't familiar with before is the Greater Stitchwort. It has been growing in the hedgerow bank, its small, delicate white flowers showing in loose clusters. One of its local names is 'popguns' due to the seed pods bursting when squeezed. https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/greater-stitchwort

Wild Strawberry plants are so prolific here that we have to control them in the graden to give other pants a chance. In the woods we just let them grow of course. You need a lot of the fruit to do anything with but they do make a tasty garnish on breakfast cereals or as a little treat. 








The ferns are starting to unfurl. They've been waiting their turn to come to life after dying back in the winter. Soon their wide fronds will be the dominant ground plant. Here is a time-lapse video of this process. https://www.britannica.com/plant/fern
I've noticed that not only does the main leaf stalk unfurl but each part of the leaf also unfurls.

Unfirling bracken frond.

Ferns are amongst the oldest of our plants having features common to species that go back millions of years. One of these features is reproduction by spores. Our fern is of course bracken which is not enjoyed by all as it spreads easily and can be difficult to control if it gets into the garden. Its spores have been linked to cancers and advice is not tp breathe them in. In Japan, the young unfuring fronds are eaten as a delicacy.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=445

Unfurling bracken

I've often written about the Wild Garlic which thrives in this part of Devon as it does elsewhere. It likes damp conditions and can be found by riverbanks. We have natural springs within the hill where our woods are making it ideal for these. The flowers are gorgeous, like stars in great swahes along paths and on the slopes. The individual flowers have brilliant, pointed white petals. 

Our daily walks in the woods have closely followed the development of the Bluebells. We didn't know how widespread and dense they would be. Right now, at the beginning of May, they are close to being at their best. Most appear to be the native English Bluebell which is characterised by the flowers hanging from one side of the stem causing them to droop to that side. I'm not sure to what extent the garlic will inhibit the bluebells but if necessary we will do something about that. As this post is taking time to complete, I'll continue later with other flowers.