From inside the community Nature Notes It is early/mid March and spring is confused, and so am I. The camelia, shown here, flowered earlier in February, but only these two heads, the others have just begun opening. I have been thinking about hedgerows. I enjoy walking grass green paths beside them, especially if the hedge is heavy with wild roses running rampant. The Readers Digest Field Guide to theWild Flowers of Britain tells us of the Dog Rose and the Downy Rose as both being common to our hedgerows. The book goes on to explain that the dog rose was so named because it was believed the roots could cure a man bitten by a mad dog. It was Henry VII who adopted the Tudor rose as his official emblem. Rupert Brooke, in his poem ‘The Old Vicarage, Grantchester, wrote of the dog rose: Unkempt about those hedges blows, An unofficial English rose. Hedgerows are important green connecting corridors across our landscapes. They will be foraging routes, nesting sites and nectar providers. We recently walked the path between Bergholt Road and Braiswick Lane with its high hedges either side. There was not a lot of birdsong it must be said, but the two small copses either end of this connecting path were a different matter. We heard a pair of chiff chaffs calling and replying and a blackcap trying the same, all singing to spring. We saw one of the chiff chaffs and a pair of long-tailed tits. The birds were all busy and delight to watch and/or listen to on a quiet Sunday morning. I am pleased to say in the midst of all the development taking place in Myland the vast majority of the hedgerows are being retained and in many case with a green buffer zone for biodiversity. Pete Hewitt 21
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