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As the spring arrives in the UK one of the most iconic images of the countryside is of deciduous woodland carpeted with bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Endymion non-scriptus, or Scilla non-scripta).  One of these woodlands can be seen at the village of Nuneham Courtenay, six miles south of Oxford and you could be forgiven for looking at it and thinking that this is how England should look in the spring and how God intended.  Well that is only true if God has a tractor mounted flail mower because that is what it takes to keep the bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) under control by pulverizing it to a fine mulch in the dead of winter.  This mulch, plus the leaves from the oak trees, provides the perfect medium for the bluebells.  

We Need To Embrace The Concept of The 'Managed Wild'The oak trees (Quercus robur and Quercus petraea) are also iconic English plants and yet the trees here were planted between 1835 and 1965 by the Harcourt family who owned the Nuneham Park estate at the time.  This is therefore a man-made habitat and yet it not only encapsulates the spring in the south of England, it is also home to a huge variety of biological diversity including many birds, bats (seven species at the last count), beetles, and fungi (including the nationally rare Satan’s bolete (Rubroboletus satanas)).

Is it any less valuable as a conservation asset because it is not “natural”?  The answer to this question has to be “no” because only a small number of humans know that it is just 180 years old. To all the other organisms is it is home and a very good home at that.  For example, the reason of the high number of bats and beetles and fungi is because the oak trees are allowed to flourish and then decline and become hollow, and die, and fall over and rot away slowly.  

There is a school of thought that decries the planting of woodland because it is not a true woodland but just a plantation.  That may be true for the first few decades, but given time and the correct management it can become the most wonderful community of plants and animals and fungi with just a small input from humans.  The managed wild is a successful strategy for conservation and should be embraced enthusiastically.

'What to Plant Where' eBookIf you are interested in developing gardens with complementary content to encourage wildlife and form part of a self sustaining and environmentally stable permaculture system, take a look at our eBook "What to Plant Where" or at our Permaculture and Self Sufficiency courses which are part of a selection of over 600 available distance learning courses.

 

Permaculture and Self Sufficiency Distance Learning Courses from ACSOur range of eBooks includes books on specialist plants, garden design, and pest control.

 

Our distance learning course Plants and Permaculture is concerned with planning and the development of  a self sustaining, environmentally stable productive garden based on the patterns which occur in nature.