10th year celebration at Colwall village garden july 2021
Cake Cutting at the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
Cake Cutting at the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
Cake Cutting at the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
We were delighted to have a small, informal gathering on 10th July 2021 to celebrate 10 years of our main site - Colwall Village Garden.
Looking back over ten busy and productive years it's amazing what's been achieved.
Wendy and Lindsay did some brief ceremonials as we enjoyed an alfresco buffet and some celebratory drink.
Our New Entrance Sign Gets Group Approval
Cake Cutting at the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
Cake Cutting at the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
As part of the event we introduced our new entrance sign. This has been hand-made by a local craftsman and features an apple, hand-carved and incised from solid oak.
It will shortly grace the entrance to the site and should make finding us considerably easier!
Pictured are a few of the attendees, all of whom have helped us over the years.
We'd like to broaden our thanks out to all those who've made Colwall Village Garden, housing both a community orchard and allotment garden plots, such a vibrant and successful community location.
Here's to the next ten years!
THOMAS ANDREW KNIGHT AND APPLES AND PEople
A new paid commission for local Colwall artist Chris Hellowell
We've previously publicised the website - Apples and People - which celebrates this fabulous fruit and the people associated with it. We were interested to hear recently from local Colwall artist Chris Hellowell that he has received a paid commission from Apples and People to produce a set of four images around the life and works of Thomas Andrew Knight and the importance of his studies of the apple. The artwork that Chris produces will accompany a story to be published in 2022.
Thomas Andrew Knight (pictured courtesy of the Hereford Cider Museum Trust) was born in Herefordshire in 1759 and died in 1838. He was a leading botanist/horticulturalist of his time and did much to research and produce new varieties of plants by selective breeding.
The Apples and People website can be seen at https://applesandpeople.org.uk/
Chris Hellowell has his own website at http://hellowell.co.uk/
Chris is amongst a group of local artists who will be using Colwall Village Garden as a centre to display and sell their art as part of this year's h.Art cultural event.
You can find more details on our website at https://colwallorchardgroup.org/events under the Art in the Orchard feature.
NATIONAL HEDGEROW WEEK - 29th MAY to 6th JUNE
National Hedgerow Week
National Hedgerow Week
National Hedgerow Week
We are happy to join in the first ever celebrations of National Hedgerow Week run by the Tree Council.
Hedgerows are an often-overlooked national treasure.
They are wonderful wildlife habitats, provide uplifting greenery and can even help tackle climate change. But to thrive, they need our care and attention.
Join us in this nationwide c
We are happy to join in the first ever celebrations of National Hedgerow Week run by the Tree Council.
Hedgerows are an often-overlooked national treasure.
They are wonderful wildlife habitats, provide uplifting greenery and can even help tackle climate change. But to thrive, they need our care and attention.
Join us in this nationwide celebration and get access to resources, inspiration and activities that we can all do to close the gaps in our urban and rural hedgerows.
More detail at https://treecouncil.org.uk/take-action/seasonal-campaigns/national-hedgerow-week/
Our Hedgerows
National Hedgerow Week
National Hedgerow Week
At both of our sites - at Colwall Village Garden and at Lugg's Mill Orchard - we have planted several hundred metres of new hedgerows to include thousands of young plants from many different native species.
These plants include the usual hedgrow stalwarts of hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, and field maple but we've also included more unusual
At both of our sites - at Colwall Village Garden and at Lugg's Mill Orchard - we have planted several hundred metres of new hedgerows to include thousands of young plants from many different native species.
These plants include the usual hedgrow stalwarts of hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, and field maple but we've also included more unusual species to include whitebeam, wild service and euonymus.
In places we have also planted new trees such as damsons or let existing trees such as oak or ash remain. These will be allowed to grow as bigger, standard trees to generate height and variety within the hedge line, and to provide a lofty perch for songbirds.
Hedgerow Regeneration
National Hedgerow Week
Hedgerow Regeneration
Hedges obviously require maintenance. Rather than simply trim them annually, or even cut them back hard every two or three years we are big fans of hedgelaying.
Hedgelaying allows us to let our hedges grow and mature for a decade or so before they are cut back hard to regenerate and repeat the growth cycle.
Sure, it's hard work, but it's th
Hedges obviously require maintenance. Rather than simply trim them annually, or even cut them back hard every two or three years we are big fans of hedgelaying.
Hedgelaying allows us to let our hedges grow and mature for a decade or so before they are cut back hard to regenerate and repeat the growth cycle.
Sure, it's hard work, but it's thoroughly enjoyable and provides a therapeutic activity which is relatively easy to master and very satisfying.
The fact that it's slow and time-consuming provides a natural limitation upon the amount that can be completed annually. That way we have succession of stages of hedgerow growth around our sites providing a variety of habitats to the site boundaries.
Take The Cider Orchard Quiz: Could You Care For Apples?
We like to think that we know a thing or two about orchards...
See how your apple orchard knowledge compares by trying a brief and fun quiz hosted by The Guardian newspaper.
BACK TO THE DAY JOB...
Preparation for mulching
After news of lots of our more creative work recently we've also been quietly getting on with our core business of looking after trees.
Here, Bella is working to clear the bottom strand of our tree protection cages to improve access for maintenance.
We are clearing competing grass and then mulching our trees with waste cardboard covered with wood chippings in order to conserve water, keep down competing grass, and to help improve beneficial soil fungi.
Protecting trees from damage
The tree protection cages that we have at Colwall Village Garden are something of a mixed blessing.
Certainly they help protect our fruit trees from browsing by sheep and deer but they also make maintenance more difficult and they can cause mechanical damage to trees when branches rub against the cages. The concern then is that disease can readily enter the trees through any wounds.
Irene and Chris are ensuring that this tree is tied up in a manner so that the branches can't rub the posts and rails of the protective structure.
WE're VERY SORRY - THIS NEW BENCH IS TAKEN...
A New Hand-Crafted Bench at Lugg's Mill Orchard
Isn't the internet wonderful? Searching for a snappy quote to accompany this image we have just discovered - "A bad day woodworking is still better than a good day working". We like that.
Looking very pleased with themselves, and grabbing a prime spot at Lugg's Mill Orchard are (left to right) Martin, Carolyn and Les. This is a new bench that they, and other COG volunteers, have hand-crafted using timber from our Herefordshire-based wood suppliers - Say It With Wood - from whom we buy our posts, rails and other timber materials. See https://www.sayitwithwood.co.uk/
Their products are usually fashioned from untreated chestnut which is locally sourced, free of man-made chemicals and durable.
Returning to those woodworking quotes - another favourite - "I cut it twice and it's still too short..." Priceless.
We hope that you get time to enjoy the bench at Lugg's Mill and we intend to add further seating at this site and at Colwall Village Garden over the coming months.
A HIBERNACULUM - A HOME FOR WILDLIFE
Work In Progress...
The Finished Article
The Finished Article
What do you do when you have a pond with tadpoles and you have spare materials from orchard works - tree stumps, twigs, logs, stones, mulch, turf and soil?
Build a hibernaculum...
This is a home for amphibians to find cover and to lay up in during the winter. We've created it near our pond at Colwall Village Garden and hope that it will provide a refuge for newts, toads and frogs.
The construction involved creating a tree stump framework to which we added a loose mix of stones, logs, twigs, branches and coarse mulch. The structure was capped off with a covering of logs and turf to make a snug home. There are plenty of holes and cavities for amphibians to crawl in, and to burrow down to find shelter and safety.
All of the materials used were recycled from the site.
The Finished Article
The Finished Article
The Finished Article
And here's the finished article with Andy, Julie, Rita and Wendy proudly showing off their handiwork.
Thanks too to others who helped with this work including Bella, Alan and Laurence.
We already know that we have frogs, toads and newts at the site so here's hoping that there are some new residents in this structure in due course!
This was one of the many varied orchard and wildlife related activities that we regularly perform every Friday morning. It's a relaxed and fun way to help the environment, to learn new skills, meet people and get some gentle exercise.
Please contact us if that's of interest and you'd like to join in as one of our volunteers.
Our First Attempt at Building A Dead Hedge
Pictured are the results of our latest piece of creativity at Colwall Village Garden. Using left over materials and the brash from a recently completed length of hedgelaying we have made a small section of dead hedge. The brash is simply laid in between vertical hazel stakes to provide a surprisingly strong structure. This will provide another type of habitat for wildlife, uses up waste materials and will eventually rot down to feed the soil.
For those of you intrigued by the metal tank in the background this site was, before the 1960s, previously an orchard and the tank was understood to be part of an extensive spray main system that was used to distribute and store some very noxious chemicals then used as fungicides and pesticides in the production of fruit. Needless to say we are now managing our trees on organic principles.
IN THE PINK
Blossom In Herefordshire
The recent unseasonably warm spell has brought on the developing blossom in our orchards and hedges.
We are involved in a scheme run by Visit Herefordshire to promote the orchard delights that Herefordshire has to offer. Herefordshire remains an important orchard area with over 15,000 acres of orchards and around half of all cider production coming from our county. The Visit Herefordshire website includes a section - In The Pink - that provides a guide encouraging us all to explore, walk, cycle, drive and picnic in local orchards.
We are participating in this project so if you visit either Colwall Village Garden or Lugg's Mill Orchard then please send us your blossom photos and we can post them online to share with others.
In The Pink will include a weekly guide as to where the best blossom can be enjoyed so we should all get out into the fresh air and enjoy this Springtime treat.
More detail at https://www.visitherefordshire.co.uk/inthepink
GAPPING UP AT Colwall VILLAGE GARDEN
With helpers Rowan and Maisie
Part of orchard management is the act of 'gapping up' the orchards. This is the replacement of trees which have either failed to thrive or that have simply died. At Colwall Village Garden, after 10 years of orcharding, we had lost some trees due to drought stress, mechanical damage by sheep or deer, or some that had just sat and sulked in the ground without growing very much. Young helpers Rowan and Maisie helped us plant this replacement tree.
With helpers Freddie and Tristan
We replaced 20 trees this winter. That's about 8 per cent of the total number of trees in the main orchard. Gapping up is also valuable since it provides succession of planting so that the orchard isn't all of trees of a single age. We were indebted to a grant from The Tree Council which enabled us to purchase the trees and to youngsters Freddie and Tristan for their hard work getting this one in the ground.
TRADITIONAL ORCHARDS FOR THE FUTURE INITIATIVE (TOFI) UPDATE
TOFI 2020/21 Ends On A High Note
Our efforts to help to extend, gap up and regenerate local traditional orchards over the winter came to a close recently with the last of 10 trees (9 walnuts and a pear) being planted.
Our final venue was at a wonderful elevated and sloping orchard in Colwall with panoramic views to the West towards Wales.
This was typical of the wonderful local landscape that we enjoy in Herefordshire and was a fitting ending to a programme of planting 69 trees in various locations within our parish.
The gentle ringing thud of a post rammer striking fence posts rang out across the vicinity as Lindsay and Andrew (pictured), together with Wendy, finished off the planting to include tree protection against sheep and browsing muntjac deer.
Thanks To Those Involved
A big thank you to all of our volunteers who helped with this project, in particular to Wendy (pictured), who helped get the project up and running and whom has done all of the essential behind the scenes work to see this project moved on and completed. She has also been involved with all of the practical planting work.
A big thank you too to our friends at Malvern Hills AONB who were our partners in this venture, and whom provided the funding.
Finally we must also express our gratitude to the local landowners who gave us permission to plant trees on their land. We hope that the trees provide many years of pleasure and delight, and that they are fruitful in years to come.
TOFI has been a project that fully meets our charitable objectives to restore, promote and celebrate traditional orchards and we hope to repeat this work again next winter.