What would Christmas be without mistletoe? There is only one species of mistletoe native to Britain, Viscum album, but there is none growing in the park. We would love to see it established here but we are not sure how we would go about it.
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Over the years the Friends of Southwick Country Park have planted many holly whips in the hedges around the park’s fields.
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Five things you may not have known about ivy.
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Many of the evergreen plants in the park have traditionally been used in the celebration of winter festivals.
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In the park, we have lost many of our ash saplings to ash dieback and the disease is spreading rapidly.
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Last week, we planted 100 snake’s head fritillary bulbs in Lambrok Meadow and Village Green.
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Woody nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) in the car park, heavy with berries, climbing through the roses.
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If you are visiting the garden centre this weekend, looking for flowers and shrubs to brighten your garden next year, consider planting for our pollinators and especially our dwindling bee populations.
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Bristly oxtongue (Picris echioides)
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A new species for the park’s lists, found in the Blackthorn Tunnel last week. The plant was not in flower but the leaves are unmistakeable: Pulmonaria officinalis, lungwort.
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Equinox means equal night, and today, the 23rd of September, there will be equal amounts of darkness and daylight all over the World.
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Hawthorn is an important winter food source for birds; they’re the favourite berry of blackbirds, redwings and fieldfares and are enjoyed by many other of the park’s species, including chaffinches, starlings and greenfinches.
Haws are edible though they are said to taste like overripe apples. Traditionally they were used to make jellies, wines and ketchup. They are such a prolific crop, so pretty and nearly always within reach; sometimes it seems a shame that we don’t make better use of them.
Let’s leave them to the birds: an autumnal bonanza.
Another autumnal bonanza:
The park is full of ripening blackberries, all free from the contaminants of vehicle exhaust. Here is a recipe for blackberry and apple jam.
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