Small mammals, birds, insects and other invertebrates nest, roost and/or hibernate here, eg wood mouse, wren, robin, blackbird, song thrush, brimstone and peacock butterflies, lacewing, ladybird, slow worm, common toad, etc.Urinary tract infections (UTI) are somehow complicated to treat and patients frequently will have the problem of infection recurrence after complete cure.Blackbirds and other thrushes (including redwings and fieldfares), greenfinches, yellowhammers, chaffinches, starlings and many other birds relish the haws in autumn.Devil's coach horse, violet ground beetle, harvestman, garden spider, wren, blue tit. The above are eaten by predators, e.g.hawthorn shield bug, earwig, common flower bug, bumblebees, cockchafers. It's red berries, or 'haws', appear from September onwards. When can I see it? You can see hawthorn's small, strongly scented white and pink flowers in May and June. Continental varieties flower at different times and are more prone to mildew than native strains. Often they've been imported from eastern Europe and may have been taken from the wild. When buying a hawthorn, make sure it comes from nursery-grown British stock. laevigata, 'Pauls Scarlet', which grows into an attractive small tree. The other kind of British native hawthorn is Crataegus laevigata and you will find various garden varieties, including C. It tolerates a wide variety of conditions, including polluted and exposed sites. Hawthorn is a deciduous species and its young leaves have a distinct 'nutty' flavour. It has long, sharp thorns and as a hedge forms a very secure barrier. By autumn the flowers have turned into the red berries beloved by birds. It has lobed leaves and is covered with clusters of flowers in May. It provides food for more than 150 different insect species, so is a very valuable addition to any wildlife garden. Hawthorn is probably the commonest hedgerow shrub, and can be found throughout the UK. Robins, wrens, thrushes, blackbirds, warblers and finches will nest in bramble and small mammals use it for protection from predators.Blackbirds, thrushes, chaffinches, starlings, robins, pheasants, foxes, mice and other small mammals eat the fruits. Moths such as buff arches, peach blossom and fox moths lay their eggs on bramble as it is their larval foodplant.Spiders spin webs to catch the bounty of visiting insects.Insects visit the flowers for pollen and nectar, including bumblebees, honey bees, hoverflies, wasps, butterflies, moths, flies and lacewings.Hundreds of creatures use brambles at different times of the year.When will I see it? It can be seen all year around, but you can see it's small, white or pink flowers from May to September, and the common purplish-black berries between August and October. Where will I see it? Most woodlands, hedgerows, scrubby areas and on waste ground. They can be extremely invasive (and rock hard), so need regular pruning to keep them in check. Brambles thrive in most soils and seem happy to grow in the sun or in partial or full shade. When the tip of a stem droops to the ground, it takes root, sending up a new plant. It has arching stems armed with hooked thorns that help it to scramble over anything. Its flowers provide nectar and pollen for many insects, it bears fruit in late summer and autumn, and offers good cover all year round. This scrambling shrub, also known as 'blackberry', is a real must in a wildlife garden. When will I see it? It varies depending on species, but it generally flowers between April and May. Berberis thunbergii and Berberis aggregata can provide berries into autumn and winter.Īnimals that benefit: Birds are attracted to the berries, whilst the thorns provide a barrier for safe nesting sites. Look for Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea 'Nana' if you want to grow an attractive prickly hedge. The purple-leaved Berberis thunbergii loses its leaves in winter. Berberis x stenophylla has smaller leaves and tall arching branches, and makes a good informal hedge, providing good nesting sites for birds. It looks best planted in a group with other shrubs. An evergreen, it prefers full sun and a moist soil, growing slowly to around 3 m. One of the more attractive garden varieties is Berberis darwinii, which has bright orange flowers in mid-spring. While not always the prettiest of shrubs, berberis (also known as 'barberry') are hardy and tolerate all but dry soils, and provide valuable ground cover for birds, as well as berries.
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