Fruits of our labours

Developing fruits in our garden. Should be a good year if we get some rain soon. Apples, pears, plums & blackberries.

Bike ride around the usual Boughton/Chart Sutton circuit.

Another lovely warm & sunny late spring day. As spring advances into summer there is noticeably less bird song now but I did hear a cuckoo calling near this newly planted vineyard on the Boughton/Chart Sutton border. Vineyards have existed in Kent since at least Roman times & in recent years their numbers have grown as global warming leads to more ideal growing conditions. Sites on the south facing slopes of the North Downs & Greensand Ridge with their calcareous soils are much sought after because they are particularly suited to the cultivation of the Pinot Noir & Chardonnay grapes used in the production of sparkling white wines of the Champagne variety.

Herb Robert (geranium robertianum) with its pretty pink flowers & red tinged leaves growing by the roadside. Also known as “death come quickly” because it was said that if brought into the house a death would soon follow.

Red valerian (centranthus ruber) growing on an old wall. Introduced from Europe in the 17th century it is  widespread in southern England & usually grows in quite dry situations. The flowers may be red, pink or white. It tends to be rather invasive but is easily controlled & provides a valuable nectar source for many insects. Hummingbird hawk moths find it particularly attractive & sometimes lay their eggs on it.

The Lost Forest - Nobel Peace Prize Shorts

"An international team of scientists and explorers, lead by Dr Julian Bayliss, go on an extraordinary mission in Mozambique to reach a forest that no human has set foot in. The team, including some of the world’s foremost climate change experts, aims to collect data from the forest to help in our understanding of how climate change is affecting our planet. But the forest sits atop a mountain, and to reach it, the team must first climb a sheer 100m wall of rock. The scientists’ work is based on research conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007."

YouTube Video HERE

Interesting documentary. There was a similar programme on TV a few months ago about an old extinct volcanic crater in New Guinea that was also untouched by human interference. They found several new species of plants & animals there as well. Unfortunately it was becoming increasingly threatened by loggers gradually encroaching on the area.

Places like that will soon be gone forever.

The humanoid is destroying the planet.

Ivy's flower arrangement - pretty in purple

Iris on the left, wallflower in the middle and the tall one, allium.

Ivy in the garden again - easy like Sunday morning

Bike ride along the River Medway towpath from Tovil to Barming.

The old dirt path has been upgraded by the council & is now a hard surfaced combined cycle & pedestrian path which links Maidstone town centre with Aylesford & Barming. The path is lined with wild flowers such as cow parsley & Russian comfrey. The latter is non-native & rather invasive but it provides a useful nectar source for many bees & other insects.

East Farleigh bridge & locks lie not far upstream from Tovil. The medieval bridge was built using Kentish ragstone during the 14th century. It claims to be the oldest bridge in Kent. The river was not navigable by larger vessels above this point until the 1740’s when major works were carried out to raise water levels. Up until then cargos had to be off loaded in Maidstone & taken to Wealden destinations by horse & cart.

The pretty ivy-leaved toad flax grows between the ragstone blocks of the bridge. It is a plant native to S. Europe & was introduced to UK several hundred years ago.

Hedgerow cranesbill, another abundant wildflower along the way.

The beautiful banded demoiselle can be seen on some stretches of the river. It is one of our larger damselflies.

The river near the bridge at Barming. Up until the 1740’s people crossed the river here by a ford which became impassable when water levels were raised to improve navigation for larger boats on the river. A wooden bridge was erected in its place after protests by local people. The current structure dates from 1996.

The pretty yellow crosswort flowers near the river at Barming. It is a member of the bedstraw family.

The dog rose is coming into its own at present.

House boats line the river bank at Tovil.

This beautiful little beetle is the cinnamon bug ( corizus hyoscyami ).it is increasing its range in the UK due to climate change.

Ivy in the garden

Update on my blooming flowers

Good morning- cornflower

And bumblebee (species = Common Carder). They are that gingery brown colour. There are many other bumblebee species in UK.

Bike ride on 13/05/20

On this bike ride on 13/05/20 I followed the route of the old Roman road that linked Rochester & Hastings as it passes through Boughton, Chart Sutton & the southern approaches of Maidstone.       This is a photo of Forge Lane on the Boughton/Chart Sutton borders. It lies almost exactly on the line of the Roman road.

At the northern end of Forge Lane the Roman road ascends the Greensand Ridge as no more than a present day bridleway. Remnants of a more substantial stone paved thoroughfare are visible in places.

As the route nears the crest of the ridge it cuts into the scarp face with outcrops of ragstone visible on either side.

Badgers have made their home in the banks of the sunken track.

Cow parsley borders the path as it reaches the crest of the ridge.

For the next couple of miles as the route approaches the southern outskirts of Maidstone the road is lost in farmland & the ever expanding Parkwood estate. It must run close to Brishing Road with its pretty bugle lined banks.

The route reappears as Pested Bars Road which skirts the western fringes of Parkwood. During the 19th century a Roman cemetery was discovered near here at Lockham Farm. From the end of Pested Bars Road the route is lost once again until it joins its present day counterpart , the A229 , just north of Maidstone Cemetery.

My blooming garden

(Guest blog appearance by my wife Ivy)