Signs of Autumn

Despite warnings of further heat-waves, the signs are around us that Autumn is not far away.

Cyclamen

The natural world is already showing those signs as was very well displayed to me in the shade garden at Lock 15 Gardens with a a proliferation of white and pink Cyclamen flowers. This natural woodland plant does things a bit differently, in that it produces the flowers before its leaves. It is also known in former times as “Sowbread” or “Swinebread”, as pigs were renown for digging up the roots and eating them. Like many of our native plants the natural chemicals in them were put to medicinal use. However not all benefits would survive scientific scrutiny.

The cyclamen plant was once held to hold a cure for baldness. Apparently the method of administration was to stick it up your nose! Perhaps the discomfort stopped you thinking about your baldness!!

Thoughts of Autumn may also cause us to reflection of this extraordinary summer – the hottest on record. The searing temperatures and long periods without rain has made life hard for us humans but what of the natural world around us. The first image we have is of scorched grass. The brown state of our lawns and grass areas would make us feel that life has been extinguished and with a site as devastating as the results of wild fires.

However, grass has evolved over many millions of years through all kinds of conditions and when turning brown in different conditions such as drought withdraws all its resources deep down underground to its roots to wait for better conditions. At the first drop of rain these resources up released once again upward – clever eh!

Butterfly Summer

What has been noticeable is that some life has thrives in the heat. Some plants have grown taller than usual, some have produces more fruit, and what a summer for butterflies. It has been a “butterfly summer” with our gardens and meadows glittering with the fluttering of butterflies and moths of all kinds and hues. On Turnpike Fields the exotic Elephant Hawk Moth and scarlet winged Cinnabar Moth along with its rugby shirt stripped caterpillar were spotted by members of the Guides Insects Badge Group. Elsewhere around Audlem have been seen Common Blues, Peacock, Small Copper and Ringlet butterflies , as well as the migrant Painted Lady Butterfly and Clouded Yellow.

Yes some plants have succumbed to the conditions particularly in our gardens, which is probably more down to wrong plants in wrong places.

But the sight of abundance in the face of such harsh conditions reminds us we have so much to understand and learn from the ways of the natural world. Perhaps we should by paying more attention and realise that real hope in the face of changing climate lies not with what we humans can conjure up but what the much older and wiser natural world can show, if we give it a chance