Three Cornered Copse

News 2015
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Wild-flowers around the Silver Birches
Wild-flowers around the Silver Birches
Ox-eyed Daisy, wild carrot and greater knapweed
Ox-eyed Daisy, wild carrot and greater knapweed

2 November 2015 - it is hard to believe the summer has been and gone and we have moved from the fresh green and blossom of spring to the vibrant colours of autumn - we had some success this year with the planting of the wild flowers around the silver birches, it was predominantly a mixture of white ox eyed daisies, purple knapweed and creamy-white wild carrot, though later in the summer the thistles did take over - we put in a lot of poppy seeds, sadly only one or two actual poppies appeared but hopefully there may be more next year - the wild flowers did achieve the objective of attracting more insects to the area which must be a good thing - this summer a central section of grass was left unmown to see if more wild flowers would grow there, however it did not seem to achieve very much so it is unlikely to be repeated - the summer work session was followed by our annual barbecue,

Ladybird on a thistle
Ladybird on a thistle
Relaxing in the Shade at the Summer Barbecue
Relaxing in the Shade at the Summer Barbecue

it was such a hot, sunny day we had to seek shade under the beech hedge which borders the green slope but everybody enjoyed the lunch and it was very relaxing after working hard on clearing the copse - the relatively calm, warm weather this autumn is helping to maintain a wide range of red, orange, yellow and green leaves on the trees and the bright pink of the spindle-berries is adding to the colour in the copse which is looking really good at the moment

Pink Spindleberries
Pink Spindleberries
Autumn Colour
Autumn Colour

- during half-term week one of the organisations which provide outdoor adventure activities for children and young people spent some time in the copse and I am sure all those who participated enjoyed exploring the woodland and building their dens - we have had one work session this autumn and another is scheduled for 21 November 2015 so do come along and get to know this beautiful woodland.



New Leaves & Cow-parsley
New Leaves & Cow-parsley
English Bluebells at the Top of the Copse
English Bluebells at the Top of the Copse

14 May 2015 - the copse was looking fantastic yesterday in the sunshine - the new leaves on the beech trees are such a fresh, bright green and the cow-parsley is reaching its peak - the English Bluebells at the top of the copse are beginning to clump up but as they have flowered a litter later this year some of them are being hidden by the cow-parsley so you'll need to look closely for them

The Lower Path Looking Very Neat & Tidy
Lower Path Neat & Tidy
Preparing the Ground for the Wild Flower Seeds
Preparing the Ground for the Wild Flower Seeds

- the Work Session in April went well, a lot of time was spent clearing the bottom path down to Goldstone Crescent, unfortunately as this is the first stretch of the copse where people let their dogs off the lead it does seem to be a favourite spot for the dogs to foul and quite a number of owners do not seem to be 'poop-scooping' - in addition to this clearance work much of the old fence wire on the middle path was removed and the last of the wild-flower seeds were scattered round the silver birches.


12 April 2015 - we had a very productive Work Session in March and finally had some good weather - much of the morning concentrated on clearing all the dead wood and debris from the area around the twittens that run between Woodland Avenue and Woodland Drive, this included a lot of old wire fencing which was potentially very dangerous to wildlife and the many dogs that use the copse.

Removing the Wire from round the Trees
Removing the Wire from round the Trees
Collecting up the Dead Wood
Collecting up the Dead Wood

A Mountain of Concrete Boulders and Wire in the Van
A Mountain of Concrete Boulders and Wire in the Van
 
The following week the Rangers came and converted all the dead wood into chippings which they then used to resurface the path in that area so it all looks much cleaner and tidier now. On the work morning we also spent time cutting back a mass of tangled brambles which were completely blocking one of the paths through the beech grove, it is now possible to walk from just above the grove of silver birches all the way through the beech grove to where the path comes out just below the steps at the top of the middle path. It is a very useful route to take when the copse is wet and the other paths are very muddy and also a very pleasant shady route in summer when the sun is strong.


17 March 2015 - the copse is finally beginning to dry out after all the winter rains and there have been signs of spring everywhere - the snowdrops we planted in the grove of trees at the top of the copse have really begun to clump up and made quite a display this year, as did the ones we planted round the Commemorative Copper Beech.

Snowdrops at the Top of the Copse
Snowdrops at the Top of the Copse
Snowdrops Round the Copper Beech
Snowdrops Round the Copper Beech

Many of the shrubs along the top path have been festooned with Catkins and the ground underfoot is now becoming a carpet of purple Dog Violets.

Catkins
Catkins
Wild Flowers - Dog Violet
Wild Flowers - Dog Violet

Daffodils at the Top of the Copse On the green backing the houses at the top of King George VI Drive the daffodils, which we planted last November, are beginning to flower, they are still quite sparse but hopefully will naturalise and provide a better show year on year. Soon we should be seeing the blossom on the shrubs and trees and then the Cow Parsley and we will really know spring is here.


17 February 2015 - our winter Work Session in January was again rather wet and cold but a stalwart group of 10 people turned out to help with the clearing of the path up from the Goldstone Crescent roundabout entrance up to the lower twitten.

Digging out the Bamboo
Digging out the Bamboo
The rusted sign post finally gives in
The rusted sign post finally gives in

The actual footpath had become very overgrown and there was a lot of Bamboo which had to be dug out. We also removed the unsightly and very rusted sign post close to the bottom grove of trees and managed to break the Ranger's spade in the process.

Clearing the fallen ivy clad shrubs
Clearing the fallen ivy clad shrubs
Litter in the Copse
Litter in the Copse

Further up the copse some of us went to work on cutting back some ivy covered fallen trees and shrubs which were blocking the paths through to the grove of beech trees in the middle of the copse. As always a lot or litter had accumulated in the copse, including somebody dumping a lot of NSPCC collection bags which presumably they had been paid to deliver to houses in the local area but then it is so much easier just to take the money and do one drop in the copse!!

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