Pages

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Walk Around Matley 3

Interesting sights to see in the Hedgerows around Matley

Rose Hips

Photobucket

Rose Hips are the cherry-sized red fruits of the rose bush left behind after the bloom has died. Although nearly all rose bushes produce rose hips, the tastiest for eating purposes come from the Rosa rugosa variety

Holly Leaves

Photobucket

The leaves of the Holly tree have a leathery texture and are thick, green and glossy. Normally about 2 inches log, they are edged with stout prickles alternately pointing upwards and downwards, while most of the upper leaves have only a single prickle. The leaves have neither taste nor odour and stay attached to the tree for several years. When they do fall off, the leaves take a long time to decay seeming to stad up well to the natural actions of air and moisture.

Elder Berries & Black Berries

Photobucket

Elderberries are small, dark berries that grow in clusters on Elder trees. Elders are a hardy plant that grow along our hedgerows, they are fast growing and typically grow quite large and full... the berries can be used for many purposes. Blackberries are one of our most popular berries, I still pick them each year..... and along with apples I make pies and crumbles for the freezer

Himalayan Balsam

Photobucket

Himalayan Balsam is common on our river and streams, but as nice as the flowers maybe it is however an invasive weed. The brightly coloured flowers are usually in shades of purplish pink to white and flower from June to October. Himalayan Balsam can produce around 2,500 seeds in explosive seed pods that throw seeds 20 feet or more away from the original plant. The seeds can last in the ground for several years. Apart from how nice the flowers are I like these for the way they attract bees and such like. Join me tomorrow for some macro shots of these flowers gettin a visit .

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You really have some beautiful flowers in your hedge rows. I used to have that rosa rugosa variety at our house when Patty and I got married. It was a bad choice for us with three or four little kids. And in the end I took it all out. A painful job.

imac said...

Beautiful post of colours and info Tom.

Virginia said...

Tom,
Your macro shots are amazing. Holly even before we are thinking Christmas!!! Yeah!
V

alicesg said...

Your walk around the place is fruitful. So many beautiful things to see. I love the berries that you photograph. The only berries I could see are in the supermarket not in the wild.

Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

Surely the rose hips and berries inspire you to make some jams and jellies.

EG CameraGirl said...

Nice shots of your hedgerow finds, Tom.

I'm sad to see you have Himalayan balsam too. That weed and Giant hogweed are aggressively moving into Ontario. Not a pretty sight when you realize they are squeezing other plants out.