{"id":1197,"date":"2024-10-14T13:23:40","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T12:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evolutionary.co.uk\/?page_id=1197"},"modified":"2025-02-24T15:01:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T15:01:36","slug":"ecology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/evolutionary.co.uk\/?page_id=1197","title":{"rendered":"Ecology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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At the Evolving Edge<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

A synthesis of archetypal insights, unfolding creativity and soulful wisdom<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Love of nature and aesthetics<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Monica is half Swedish and lives in the English countryside with her husband where they share their love of Bernese mountain dogs and horses. For more than thirty years, they nurtured their local ecosystem by enhancing the conservation of wildlife, birds and bees. They planted more than 500 deciduous trees, many evergreen trees and flowering shrubs. Together they created beautiful landscaped gardens and planted several hedgerows to support a rich diversity of species. With their love of aesthetics and being attuned to the spirit of the place they restored an old established garden, created an orchard and several flower gardens using local materials. Their passion for gardening design included the aesthetic use of foliage, forms and colours. Their romantic sensibilities were expressed with statues, urns and ornaments to enhance the planting, which had rare species and blossoms in all the colours of the rainbow. These delightful gardens were filled with surprises as plants emerged through the seasons. For decades Monica has created rich compost to nourish the organic vegetable and herb gardens. She chooses to eat whole foods sourced from local organic and biodynamic farmers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ecological biodiversity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Monica managed wildflower meadows and woodland dells with guidance from the Countryside Stewardship scheme to increase the population of rare plant species and butterflies. Neighbouring farmers also adopted ecological awareness to benefit many hundreds of acres of farmland. Monica studied species distribution of the vegetation in different areas and observed ecological succession. New ponds were dug out to provide further natural habitats and for passing ducks. For 32 years, they cherished a secluded woodland garden with a carpet of bluebells that they affectionately named “The Secret Garden”. In this enchanted informal garden they worked in partnership with nature with minimum intervention to allow The Secret Garden to develop harmoniously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The land they had custodianship over of had not been exposed to chemicals and therefore had a symbiotic and intact ecosystem filled with countless species. The old wildflower meadows with rich grassland, a woodland, a stream and small wetland were surveyed by the High Weald Meadows Unit in June 2008. The results of the species survey revealed a fine collection of wild flower species including three species of orchid. The site was of much ecological interest and the diverse botany supported a variety of fauna. In the survey, the following species were identified:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Flowers<\/strong>
Yarrow, marsh thistle, pignut, bluebells, cats ear, violets, oxeye daisy, tormentil, glaucous sedge, birds foot trefoil, common knapweed, meadow buttercup betony, devils bit scabious, bedstraw spp., tare spp., sneezewort, meadow vetchling, germander speedwell, stitchwort, woodrush, heath spotted orchid and common spotted orchid. Betony, meadow buttercup, pignut, common knapweed, selfheal, dog violet, sorrel, greater birds foot trefoil, ribwort plantain, gallium spp., red clover, common twayblade, dyers greenweed, St John\u2019s wort, cuckoo flower, meadow sweet, common vetch, wild angelica, cats ear spp., rough hawkbit, creeping cinquefoil, creeping buttercup, white clover, oval sedge, red clover, selfheal and lesser spearwort. Dandelion, cat ears spp., wild angelica, red clover, mouse ear chickweed and cowslips. Burdock, wild garlic, snowdrop species, wild daffodils, wild primroses, forget-me-knots, red campion and fox gloves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grasses<\/strong>
Yorkshire fog, cocksfoot, sweet vernal grass, fescue spp. bent spp., fox tail, <\/strong>false oat grass and quaking grass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ponds<\/strong>
Water lilies, marsh marigold, water mint, bulrushes, yellow flag irises and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trees<\/strong>
Oaks, ash, hazel, Scots pine, alder, silver birch, eucalyptus, beech, sycamore, willows, holly, hawthorn. poplar, larch (Cedrus deodara<\/em>), Judas tree, acers, American red oak, hornbeam, bird cherry, yew, Nordman firs, Norway spruce and blue cyprus. Fruit trees \u2013 fig, cherry, variety of apple trees and greengage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bees, Butterflies and other insects<\/strong>
There are various species of honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees and carder bees. There are many species of butterflies including: meadow brown, ringlet, gatekeeper, six-spot burnet, small heath, small skipper, common and small blue butterfly, red admiral and the peacock butterfly. There are many other insects such as dragonflies, beetles, hoverflies, ants, grasshoppers, damsel flies, lady birds, scarab beetles, woodlice, glow worms and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birds<\/strong>
Buzzard, kestrel, barn owl, tawny owl, cuckoo, wagtail, common sparrow, nuthatch, goldfinch, blue tit, great tit, yellow tit, coal tit, swallows, house martin, swifts, robin, green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, woodcock, wren, nightingale, thrush, blackbird, starlings, crows, magpies, jay, chaffinch, crow, pheasant, heron, ducks, Canada geese, wood pigeon, sand piper, sparrow hawk, grebe and moor hen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wildlife<\/strong>
Fallow deer, badgers, foxes, rabbits, weasel, mice, long-eared and pippestrelle bats, toads, newts, grass snakes, and slow worms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n