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.
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.
RSS Feed