Naked ladies in Roland's Wood

Now there's a headline to conjure with...  Amaryllis belladonna must have one of the most beautiful official plant names, along with its cheeky common name of naked ladies...

The name Amaryllis belladonna was created by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 - Amaryllis taken from a shepherdess in Virgil's pastoral Eclogues, from the Greek word amarysso, meaning "to sparkle". There has been some controversy in the plant world about their classification, depending on whether Linnaeus's was a South American or a South African plant, and you can read all about it in Wikipedia.

Anyway, they are flowering in profusion at the moment in Roland's Wood - along the top ridge, under trees and out in the grassy areas, pink and white drifts in the sunshine.

 

  

Like the bluebells, these bulbs will continue to multiply and spread, along with the additional ones which have been planted, so come back in ten years time and it will be a sea of pink and white naked ladies - of the flowering variety!

Beech trees humming with bees

If you take a wander past the beech trees in Roland's Wood on these summery days you'll hear the busy hum of thousands of bees.

It needs a better photographer than I am to capture the buzz of activity, but you can just see one in this picture, and trust me when I say that there were dozens more all zooming all around...


 
They are collecting honeydew, a sugary, sticky liquid which is exuded by woolly aphids - you can see their white fluffy bodies on the undersides of the leaves and along stems, and the sticky coating of their honeydew making the leaves all shiny. In this picture you can even see a droplet of it funneled down a leaf to the branch, ready to splash down and varnish the leaves below, making them irresistible to the bees.

The honeydew can become covered with black sooty mould which may look bad but once it gets colder and the aphids go, the mould dries up and falls off the plant.






Isn't it great to think of Roland's Wood providing such bounty for bees which are having a harder time of it these days...

Reading the daily doggy newspaper

When visiting Roland's Wood I met Michelle who was there with her dog Toby - they feature on the Walkies page - and I was taken with Michelle's comment "Oh, yes, I bring Toby here all the time, he loves to come and read the daily doggy newspaper!", which is exactly what dogs do, checking things out and catching up with all the various canine comings and goings...

Thanks, Starsha, for your great photos of  Summer, Ally and Snowy enjoying the woods - I've added them to the Walkies page - and here is Summer in a regal pose, sitting on the bench donated by Nancy Pickmere, a long time friend and supporter of Roland's.  The plaque beneath reads : 

Roland loved dogs and in giving this park
to the people of Kerikeri
he wished a safe place for dogs and people.
Donated by Nancy Pickmere 2010

Faith's photos

After the piece in the Bay Chronicle on 10th January about Roland's Wood a couple of people contacted me with photos which was GREAT - here are some beauties from Faith Donovan - one of the many people who have been enraptured by the bluebells and the apple blossom in springtime...
 

 

  

Thanks, Faith, for sharing these.

University of Oxford Harcourt Arboretum blog

When exploring some "tree sites" online, I came across this newly established blog for the University of Oxford Harcourt Arboretum which has the tagline Enhancing the discovery, understanding and appreciation of nature since 1621

Though Roland's Wood is a woodland rather than an arboretum, it felt like a link across to the other side of the world as our blog was just newly set up too - you've heard of sister cities, well, this felt like a sister blog, especially with the post mentioning hard working teams busily mulching !

I've put a comment on one of their posts, and invited interested visitors to make a virtual visit to Roland's Wood and will keep an eye on the traffic to see if we get connections happening through the ether!

Magnolias and Oswald Blumhardt

Though early spring is the time to see magnolias in flower, in my own garden and at Roland's Wood, some magnolias have surprisingly put on a second flush of flowers.

The magnolias at Roland's Wood are some of the earliest cultivars developed by Ozzie Blumhardt, a  renowned Northland plant breeder, specialising in magnolias and camellias.  Roland visited his nursery at Pakaraka and purchased newly developed cultivars for the Wood, including the now world famous Magnolia Star Wars - Roland was one of Ozzie's earliest clients.

See more information about Ozzie Blumhardt in this well-reviewed book :

Oswald Blumhardt  New Zealand Plant Pioneer
by Catherine Ballard, published by David Ling, distributed by David Bateman
NZ$40.00

Here is a full and useful review by Murray Dawson from the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture New Zealand Garden Journal, 10(1), 2007, Page 26


and click here for a link on Flickr of some intricate close up images of  a Star Wars magnolia flower by Kam Hong Leung as part of a photo competition at Kew Gardens.

December rain and ligularia

The rain over Christmas in Kerikeri might not have been seen as ideal for some people's plans, but it has been brilliant for Roland's Wood, with the the warm, soft, damp weather encouraging fantastic growth - down by the ponds the arum lilies, taro and the "tractor seat" ligularia are flourishing, and it has been a great start to summer for all the young trees planted at the end of winter and the recently planted renga renga lilies.

Here is a link to the Dunedin City Council's webpage about the wonderfully named "tractor seat ligularia", which starts: 

"It is most satisfying when a plant’s common name describes it perfectly. The tractor seat ligularia’s enormous leaves are perfectly reminiscent of an old fashioned tractor seat, amply proportioned and curved for the comfort of your average NZ farmer’s posterior."

 

 


Ligularia at Roland's Wood by Keri Molloy. For more photos, see Keri's website

Of course, warm wet weather is great for growing weeds too, and John H says if anyone would be willing to help pull out a few of the small weeds around the young renga renga lilies that would be GREATLY appreciated - phone John to discuss on 09 407 8329 - he said, "If even just one or two people were willing to come lend a hand that would be great".

Astilbes in flower

Mid-December and the new young astilbes down in the rocky swamp area are in flower - beautiful feathery plumes of pink and cream.  These were only planted in late October, but are doing well - they like wet feet and the conditions will suit them.  John H. says that though it looks a bit messy around them at the moment, they will expand to fill the space and become quite large, bountiful plants, pushing out some the weeds "which is something we dream about happening!"

 

On one gardening website they are described as "lacey ladies with iron constitutions" and people are advised not to assume these delicate and ferny plants are fussy or tender... they are tough, good do-ers, not prone to pests or diseases, and can cope with water logged and shady conditions, even clay soil.

Two Johns with a Will to work...

Visiting Roland's Wood today I came across a hardworking team of John Graham, John Wilson and Will Gooch, collecting bucket loads / trailer loads of mulch from under trees where there had been some pruning and chipping done, and taking it down the hill to the other team of John Horrell, Vicky and Bianca who were spreading it around new plantings to set them up for dry days over summer.

 

An interesting understory

The trees create Roland's Wood, of course, but another wonderful element is the "interesting understory" of planting -  the well-known bluebells spreading prolifically, but also great swathes now of orange clivias, snowy renga renga lilies, hellebores, dietes with their white intricate flowers hovering like butterflies over the spiky foliage, and more being planted all the time...

In November, John with Bruce and Judith Birling planted well over 1,000 more renga renga lilies.  Judith raised the plants herself and donated them to Roland's Wood.  This photo shows plants which are not quite 9 months old - they had a few flowers this year already, and plants which were just a year old in November made a great show.

As well as being beautiful under the canopy of the trees, they are effective in keeping down weeds, controlling soil moisture and en masse, will prevent soil run-off in heavy rain.

John says, "What we are trying to achieve is a three story environment, with ground covers, then shrubs and small trees, under a smaller number of large woodland trees.  This gives plant diversity, dappled light, year-round interest, and variety of habitats for birds and wildlife."

Tree trimming a training opportunity

An intrepid team from Telford Rural Polytechnic Arboriculture Certificate course came to Roland's Wood during May and again in November for some practical experience in silviculture - tree management.

HortTraining, part of Telford Polytech, runs this short course on every facet of arboriculture.  They find Roland's Wood especially helpful as they provide opportunities for the students to experience a wide range of trees and their different requirements.
They especially like the rope climbing! Their peals of laughter resonate around the Woods as they grapple with getting off the ground and into the branches.

  

 

Photos by Joe Cooper.  Click to enlarge.

Welcome to Roland's Wood online

I have created this blog to celebrate Roland's Wood and all the people who are working so hard to make it a place for the community - and their dogs - to come and enjoy.

I enjoy the woods all year round, there is always something to notice and appreciate, but I am absolutely entranced by the bluebells each September, a blue haze stretching across the hilltop, taking me back to woodland walks - complete with dog, during my childhood in Surrey and Sussex.

I visited John and Judy Horrell's garden, led there by some out-of-town friends who are enthusiastic gardeners, and after admiring the gorgeous garden the Horrells have created, conversation turned to Roland's Wood.  John Horrell is there most days, planting, pruning and planning, and he has a vision for making Roland's Wood all that it can be.

Thank you Roland, and to all the others, especially John Horrell, who are helping Roland's Wood flourish.

Photo by Keri Molloy
(Click to enlarge)