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Blog
Can you eat crab apples? Three favourite crab apple recipes
With their terrifically tart and tangy flavour, crab apples are a favourite foraged food.
Helen Keating • 24 Oct 2018
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Trees woods and wildlife
Orchards
Buzzing with life and fruitful harvests. Orchards are both useful for food, but also for a huge range of wildlife. Though many have been lost, there is hope for the orchard!
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Blog
What can rings and black lines in tree trunks tell us?
We take a fascinating look at tree anatomy and explore the appearance of tree rings and other black lines.
Julia Lock • 29 Dec 2021
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Trees woods and wildlife
Plum
A butterfly’s paradise with lovely blossom and even lovelier fruit. The plum is a petite tree which is perfect for pollinators and a perfect addition to any orchard.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Lime, common
At home on a country estate or deep in the wild, this lime is common in name only. It’s a hybrid between the small-leaved and large-leaved lime, and is a particular favourite of aphids and their many predators.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Velvet shank
A burst of sunshine in wintry woods, the bright orange of velvet shank fungus is a treat for the eyes on a dark day. Not only are they a cheery sight but they are also edible.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Timothy grass
A gentle and swaying irritant. Though this grass is a favourite with insects and farmers, it may well be to blame for your hay fever! It is a very common allergen, but is now being used in a cure to your seasonal sneezes.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Barnacle lichen
Looking like little barnacles growing on tree trunks, get to know barnacle lichen which you'll find on the bark of living trees in ancient wood.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Oak lace bug
An insect pest which attacks oaks, the oak lace bug can reduce growth and weaken trees. With number of other diseases already affecting oaks, the arrival of the oak lace bug would pose a serious threat.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Coal tit
The tiniest of tits with dull grey feathers to match its name. The coal tit is a frequent visitor to bird feeders across the UK.