Nature Notes

Michaelmas Daisies - the last of the summer flowers - are in full bloom on the 29th, September, the feast day of St. Michael and All Angels. It is surprising how many flowers are still blooming in September. Gorse, of course, is never out of bloom. "When Gorse is out of Bloom, Love is out of Fashion." You will see it as you stroll along the canal tow-path. There are swathes of the alien Himalayan Balsam with its orchid-like flowers which explode on being touched. They grow so prolifically that they smother our native species, which is why they are not popular. The Hemp Agrimony, with its tiny pink flower heads, was once used to make a tea to be taken at the onset of influenza. The "Pineappleweed" smells of pineapples if you walk on it. Another flower, the Blue Fleabane, is very similar to the cultivated Michaelmas Daisy.

The hedges in September are full of fruits, to be enjoyed by humans, squirrels and particularly birds. The elder produces clusters of berries, to be made into wine by humans and to be eaten voraciously by fruit-eating warblers, starlings and other birds. Boys and girls know all about acorns and "conkers" and the best places in Bunbury to find them! Another fruit maturing now is the beech mast, the nut produced by mature beech trees, which has to fall on the ground and be crushed before the birds can get into it. And all creatures love blackberries: the flowers attract butterflies, moths and hoverflies, and the ripe, juicy berries are sought by all species of bird and mammal, including ourselves.

Liz Jones