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Local  knowledge

19/5/2016

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When I give talks about growing orchids in gardens, whether in pots or naturalised in grass, one thing always comes out - local knowledge. This may be a casual comments along the lines of 'I remember when orchids grew along the lanes.' These are of interest in appreciating just how much reduced the native population has become with changes in agriculture and in the past, widespread picking.

With the rise of personal transport in the middle of the twentieth century, it became commonplace for families to travel out of urban areas into the countryside. The novelty value of the day out and the great profusion of wild flowers encouraged picking of what was seen as an endless resource. Sadly, the sheer numbers meant that the repeated picking finally exhausted the population of plants and they all but disappeared. Now that there is legal protection and a much better understanding of the damage picking flowers can cause to natural stocks, our hedge rows are recovering. Unfortunately once the orchids have gone they very rarely return without help. This is where the local knowledge comes to the fore. When I was speaking at our local Horticultural Society, here in Bewdley, I learnt of many sites, now devoid of orchids, which were once prolific. These sites are ripe for recolonisation, but it does depend on the landowners wanting their verges and fields to be replanted.

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Not so much about orchids

12/5/2016

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Picture
Our largest Hymenopteran, the Hornet.
This superb insect, Vespa crabro, has little to do with our orchids, except that they turn up from time to time while we are working outside. This particular specimen, probably a female recently out of hibernation, was found by our potting shed, dead. This was very sad because as it seemed physically undamaged we can only imagine that someone panicked when they saw it and got out some sort of insecticide, it flew off and died by us. It is one of the insects for which I have a very healthy respect and a great admiration. While we work outside we are surrounded by the hum of bees and hoverflies. Honey bees are very distinctive in their sound, then comes the bumble bees (all our bumble bees are in the genus Bombus) with a lower hum and then comes the distinct rumble of a female hornet. It is a bit like standing next to a road where whizzy motorbikes are shooting past and then comes a great diesel fire engine. You might admire the fire engine, but you would not get in its way. There is something else about the hornet you may notice, it is brown and yellow, not black and yellow like wasps. If you see one, consider yourself lucky, there are few enough about of these impressive insects.
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    Author

    Dr Wilson Wall, grower of orchids. A scientist by inclination and training.

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