As we spring towards February, I have some wooly company by the edge of the hedge, and I find myself drawn to the luminescent lichen on the hawthorn hedge, before heading back into the village to see the yellow beacons of floral groundcover that are the winter aconite in the churchyard. And on the way, coming across the chattering local starlings who’ve recently lost their regular perching site.

Recorded at the end of January, we're approaching the midpoint between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, and the light is returning. Days are becoming longer, and nights, gradually shorter. We start, as usual, on the bench, at the edge of the hedge, along the Viking Way in Lincolnshire, with this time, two fields of hungry sheep for company, intrigued by what I'm doing near their patch. We take a closer look at the vibrant yellow lichens on the hawthorn hedge; the subtle gradients of colour along the hedgerow, from muddy ground to newly flail-cut hedge top. Then, on the way to see the sunny-soil-beacon display of Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) flowers in the village churchyard, situated under the gnarly Horse Chestnut tree,  the local recently displaced starlings make a welcome chattering appearance. What a glorious sound!

Sources and further reading: 

https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/learning/what-is-a-lichen

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/mutualism-examples-of-species-that-work-together.html 

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/identify-nature/lichen-id-guide/index.dsml 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/pied-wagtail/

‘The Biology of Plants’. Peter Raven, Ray Evert, Susan Eichhorn. 

‘Plant Names Simplified: Their Pronunciation, Derivation and Meaning.’ By A.T. Johnson and H.A. Smith.

‘Flora Britannica’. Richard Mabey.

‘The WIld Flower Key: How to identify wild flowers, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland.’ Francis Rose.

‘The WIld Flowers of Great Britain and Ireland’. Roger Phillips.

‘A Dictionary of Plant Lore’. Roy Vickery.

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Edge of the Hedge is bourne out of a labour of love, of hoping to help people to find moments of peace, slow the walking pace, and look more deeply at the natural world that we share this planet with, with a hope that by looking more closer, and connecting more deeply with it, we'll take greater care of the planet, and share the stories we learn, to inspire others to connect more deeply.

If you want to read more about Hannah's wider work, as a Herbalist and Nature Educator, you can find her website here.