New Year, new project. My father put his name down for an allotment a year or two back and a few weeks before Christmas the council got in touch to say a plot had become available. I've suggested a division of labour whereby he does all the digging and I'll lounge in a deckchair reading the paper.
 He seems to think otherwise so we made a start after Boxing Day and I got things underway by digging a bed over. It looks like no-one has worked it for a while because it's overgrown with coarse grasses, though there are some fruit bushes which have buds on already which is a bonus.
 We were intrigued that the contract states that the size of the allotment is "5 poles or thereabouts". We did some research and it seems that a pole (sometimes called a rod or a perch) is a measurement originating in Anglo-Saxon times. It is generally understood to be a linear measurement of 5 and a 1/2 yards. In the case of an allotment it is a square pole so to speak.
 Allotments became widespread during the 19th. century as masses of people moved from the countryside to towns and cities with the advent of industrialisation creating food shortages. It was reckoned that the standard size allotment of 10 poles was sufficient to feed a family so in effect my father's is half of an allotment.
 I wonder if there is any other system of measurement so archaic that is still used to this day?

 Postscript. And in answer to that question: a furlong. This suggestion was made to me in a pub, that forum where so many important matters are discussed.
 Having looked it up I can confirm that a furlong is equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 poles or 10 chains. The "Composition of Yards and Perches" is the first legal statute in England on such matters dating back to the late 13th. or early 14th. century. The furlong originally derived from an Anglo-Saxon measurement of the length of a plowed furrow.
 Many of our units of measurement have ancient roots then but the pole/rod/perch seems to have fallen into disuse apart from defining the size of allotments!           

 Some photographic reminders of the year that's gone. And at the same time they can herald the re-birth that will follow in the year to come...
 Beginning with this early bee on the Snowdrops. Posted 7th. February 2017.

 Narcissus Thalia translucent in the morning sun. Posted 28th. March.

 Wood Anemones, one of the flowers of the forest. Posted 12th. April.

 One of the greatest sights in all England: Snake's-Head Fritillary grows in thousands in the water meadows of Magdalen College, Oxford. Posted 17th. April.

 Summer Snowflakes -sometimes called Loddon Lilies- growing on the banks of the River Loddon in Berkshire. Posted 18th. April.

 The English Iris (except it originates in the Pyrenees!). Posted 20th. April.

 Sweet Rocket also known as Dame's Violet. Posted 22nd. May.

 The fronds of a fern unfurl. Posted 30th. May.

 Bumblebees love Purple Toadflax. Posted 4th. June.

 Field Scabious on the Hackney Marshes, London. Posted 11th. June.

 Field Scabious, Betony and Greater Knapweed growing in the Kingcombe Meadows, Dorset. Posted 13th. June.

 Meadow Cranesbill growing among grasses in the chalk hills overlooking the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire. Posted 26th. June.

 Rock Penstemon on the rim of the Crater Lake caldera, USA. Posted 5th. August.

 Sea Lavender on the salt marshes of the North Norfolk coast. Posted 15th. August.

 Sunlight illuminates the papery seed heads of Honesty. Posted 13th. September.

 The fruits of Autumn. What could be nicer than a handful of Blackberries or perhaps a Bramble and Apple Pie? Posted 7th. September.

 The Stinking Hellebores (Hellebore foetidus) were the first plants to flower in the garden this year and the subject of the first entry in this diary on January 21st.
 To my surprise they are also the last plant of the year to flower! H. foetidus flowers in late winter but I wasn't expecting them to flower again this side of Christmas. I thought it might be due to favourable conditions in this particular garden but I've noticed a large patch of them in full flower by the railway line just north of Stevenage.
 I purchased mine from a garden centre but they are a native wildflower in parts of the country. Their natural habitat is calcium rich chalky soil in woods and scrub. I have spotted them quite often by railway lines in and around London- I wonder if this is because the gravel used to lay track contains lime chippings?
 Even now in December I saw a bumblebee in the garden feasting on the lime-green flowers. As I mentioned in a recent entry (concerning Mahonia species) bumblebees are furry creatures that may well have originated in the Himilayas so they are able function in cool weather if need be.    

 Hertfordshire got more snow than London. I've walked over the brow of this hill many times yet the snow makes a familiar view feel so different.
 I'm one of those people who welcomes a long, cold winter (well, longish). Perhaps it's because my body copes better with very cold temperatures than very high ones.
 It's good for plants too. Most species that are native or naturalised in the UK not only tolerate cold temperatures but thrive on them. For example apple trees need a period of cold to set blossom and fruit well (the industry thinks of this in terms of 'chill requirement' and 'chill units' I believe). 
 Similarly the seeds of numerous plants need wintry conditions to germinate. Freezing and thawing breaks the dormancy of seeds in readiness for spring.
 Plunging temperatures do cull many creepy crawlies but that too is part of nature's checks and balances in a Northern climate. And again this is part of the life cycle for bugs Britannia. I would go so far as to say that I find a cold, damp winter reassuring though opinions do differ on that one...    

 The many moods of a garden. This was the sight that greeted me as I stepped out the back door at 8am this morning.
 Actually I love the variation in seasons so bring it on- let it snow. Then again I might have a browse through some of the entries I posted over summer, remind myself what warm and sunny feels like...

 Here's a wee beastie that's being spotted in the UK more often in recent years; it will help to click on the photo to enlarge it. In the middle of the image this intriguing critter is hovering over the foliage and flowers of Red Valerian- hairy body, two antennae, a blur of fast flapping wings and a very long tongue (like a length of black thread) poking into the flower head
 This photograph was taken in the back garden a couple of summers ago but I was reminded of it by an article about the species on the BBC website recently. This visitor comes to our shores from Africa and Europe carried by the winds (and a lot of of flapping no doubt). Apparently this has long been the case but lately it's becoming more common and widespread. I would concur: I'd never seen any until the past few summers but the clump of Red Valerian attracts them in May/June.  
 When I first saw one I noted that it seemed to be a moth that hovered like a hummingbird. I did some research and guess what- it's called a Hummingbird Hawk-Moth!      

 My recent entry about the 'holloways' of Dorset was illustrated with a photograph I took of one such sunken lane several years ago.
 I had another look at the batch of photos taken the same day in and around that dank lane. Since childhood I have always had a palpable sense of something primeval in these locales, a sense that nature is an enveloping force.
 In the case of the motor car in the last image that is literally the case...   

 This is Mistletoe (Viscum album) growing on the trunk of the apple tree. NB It might be helpful to click on the photo to enlarge it to get a good look at it- we have entered the season of low raking sunlight and deep shadows.
 'Tis the season or fast approaching but Mistletoe has been associated with plant lore at least as long as its association with Christmas and probably further back than that.
 Strictly speaking it is a hemiparasite; it derives nutrition and water from the host tree but photosynthesis takes place as well. Then again this is probably not a point that people give much thought to when they're kissing under a few sprigs of it. 

 Sunken lanes can be found all over the country but they are particularly deep and dank in West Dorset. My attention was drawn recently to several articles and essays about these "holloways" as they are sometimes called in that part of the world.
 In fact I was not familiar with that name although I have walked along several of the ones I saw mentioned. Some are roads, others no more than tracks, one is arguably a stream bed as much as a pathway!
 Their depth is partly the result of many hundreds of years of use and partly the action of water both of which wear down the soft sandstone that is the underlying geology of the area. I must revisit these holloways next year and seek out some that are new to me- Hell Lane near Bridport sounds like a choice location...

 Well, we're getting to the time of year when late autumn is heralding the onset of winter. I could be downhearted but it does open up the possibility of walking out to country pubs with log fires, good beer and hearty food.
 If you happen to be passing through the village of Preston in Hertfordshire I can recommend the Red Lion for all of those things, set in some nice countryside in the Chilterns. No, I don't have shares in the pub to be recommending it so highly.
 Actually the villagers do- it was the first pub in the country to be bought by the community when there were plans to close it down in the 1980s. 

 Traditionally November is getting a bit late to plant things but here in London I think we have in effect a nine month growing season. It's unusual to get a frost until December or even January. Warmer winters seem to be the general trend and this metropolis of millions creates a microclimate of sorts.
 So it doesn't seem to be a problem planting the hardier specimens around now. I saw these Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea' in my local garden centre at half price- too good to miss! 'Purpurea' is a selected form of our native Wood Spurge.
 The plant more commonly used in gardens (including this one) is E. amygdaloides var. robbii which has a deserved reputation for being sturdy even in dry shade. Commonly known as 'Mrs. Robb's Bonnet' it's said that the original specimens were bought over from Turkey by a Mrs. Robb in her hatbox. 

 Spiky, spiny Mahonia species flower late in the year and grow strongly even in deep dry shade. On a sunny day bumblebees will come out of hibernation for the spires of yellow flowers.
 Bumblebees are furry so can cope with a certain amount of cold. In fact the greatest number of different bumblebee species are to be found in the Himalayas. For that reason it is speculated that bumblebees evolved in that part of the world. They are predominantly a species of cooler temperate zones. They can be found in hotter climes such as Africa and South America but only in cooler parts eg. mountain ranges.
  

 The singer-songwriter Phil Ochs wrote a song which contained the line: "a journey through the universe ablaze with changes".
 I thought of it this morning when I looked at the Sumach Tree (Rhus typhina) near the back door. It's natural habitat is in North America but it springs up all over the place here. Actually it's one of those plants where it's debatable whether it's a big shrub or a small tree or possibly a giant weed. It spreads vigorously (by suckers) and grows very quickly. I pollard the one in the garden every year and it throws out branches 8 or 9 feet long in a season.
 In summer it's green with some not very conspicuous flowers and fruits but it's very deciduous. In mid-autumn the leaves really are a blaze of colour in fiery hues of yellow/orange/red. Then the leaves drop entirely leaving a skeleton of branches.
 It's sometimes called the Stag-Horn Sumach. The bare branches do have a resemblance to antlers and the bark is downy to the touch like the fuzz of fur on antlers.   

 Autumn is a somewhat melancholy time in the garden what with the last flowers fading and the leaves falling. Then again there's lots to do. Planting bulbs, dividing plants, collecting seeds, sowing and growing new plants, general pruning, mulching, tidying up, sorting out pots etc.
 It's the time to take stock of what worked and what didn't and muse upon the year to come...   

 I took a lot of photos when I was in the States in July hiking in the Crater Lake National Park. When I was sifting through them preparing my talk at the South London Botanical Institute last week I realised that a new post might be in order concerning some of them.
 For example I posted this photo previously on 5th. August but didn't identify the plant. It's Rock Penstemon (Penstemon rupicola), also known as Cliff Penstemon. I can vouch for that name as I was standing on the rim of the caldera next to a drop of about a thousand feet!

 I identified Penstemon rybergii and Lupinus latifolus in my entry dated 27th. August. Both are common in the area and as this unpublished photo shows they grow side by side quite often.

 Another Lupin -not so common- which I saw in the dry, gritty, rocky environs along the East Rim Drive. I describe that hike in my entry dated 14th. August but I didn't include this plant which I think is some variety of Lupinus lepidus.

 Certainly my favourite name of all the plants I saw: Elephant's Head Lousewort (Pedicularis groenlandica). This unpublished photo shows some growing in the mossy bog I describe in my entry dated 3rd. September.

 Erythronium grandiflorum. I saw hundreds of these growing in a moist meadow. Mentioned in my talk but not posted before.

  I neglected to include this in both my talk and the diary. A delicate beauty that I saw growing here and there along the margins of the East Rim Drive. I saw an illustration of it in a book the other day, made a mental note of what it is and now I've forgotten!

 Previously published in my entry dated 1st. August concerning the snow melt streams that run through the forested landscape. I identified the yellow flowered plant as as a Senecio but looking again I think it's Arnica amplexicaulis which appropriately enough is also known as Streambank Arnica. The splash of red is a Castilleja, one of the many varieties of "Paintbrush" flowers, this one adapted to moist habitats (perhaps C. miniata?).

 A photo from the same entry but I didn't identify it. This is Lewis' Monkeyflower (Mimulus lewisii). A number of North American plants were named by the pioneering Lewis and Clark expedition as they explored "the new land" in the early 1800s. The Native Americans were there already but Lewis might have been among the first white men to see this species.

 Also from that entry. When I was there I was enchanted by the combination of yellow and blue flowers in front of a babbling brook (though the Americans would call it a creek). The yellow flowers are surely a Potentilla (eg. P. glandulosa?) but in my enchantment I neglected to get an in-focus shot of the blue flowers and I've been wondering what they could be.
 I think they might well be Aconitum columbianum, a Monkshood that enjoys growing by water. NB If so, highly poisonous like all Monkshoods!

 The Applewood Permaculture Centre is nestled in the hills of Herefordshire. I went there for a short course last week: "Learning the language of systems and patterns". Applewood is aptly named because there is indeed a large orchard (where I camped) with various local varieties. Some delicious apples and apple juice were a welcome bonus to doing the course.
 One of the tutors Looby runs the centre with her partner Chris (it's also their home). The other tutor was Aranya; I did my PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) with Aranya back in 2015 and a couple of other short courses since then.
 I will have to write a longer entry on permaculture because some very interesting ideas and practices have developed out of it from the 70s onward. Suffice to say Aranya is a brilliant communicator of some weighty concepts which sound like (and in fact are) common sense when he describes them so clearly. He is a masterful exponent of the whiteboard which he wipes down afterwards with an old sock!
 His book "Permaculture Design" is a great source book for permaculture in general and the design process in particular. He will be publishing his second book next year and it will be about systems and patterns.