The power of green things
we’re pretty obsessed with plants and green things in general
As you may have noticed by now we can’t read enough about the wonders of nature. It’s a miracle how each single organism on this earth is playing its part and each green leaf has a role to play in keeping the eco-system and wildlife finely balanced. As natural perfume makers, we’re fascinated with the power of plants and flowers but rarely gave hedgerows much thought. Until now!
What’s in the hedgerow?
When you next go for a country walk, take a moment to look at the hedgerow. There’s a lot of them in the UK (over 500,000km apparently, compared to 400,000km of roads) but did you know that they are a fascinating hive of activity and play a crucial part in carbon sequestering or capture, helping to maintain the earth’s eco-system?
Have you ever through about what’s going on in the hedgerow?
We hadn’t either! But ecologist Rob Wolton knows all about it. He decided he’d spend 12months studying the hedge 40 metres from his house in Devon. At the end of the year, he was still finding new species to add, so carried on for another 10 years!
“They are a reservoir of life”
He found 83% insects, 17% of all true flies, butteries and moths recorded in British Isles.
And it didn’t stop there. He also found toads lizards, grass snakes, long eared bats, pipistrelles and hedgehogs. Amazing to think that all this is going on behind the leafy exterior.
Increasing interest in the importance of hedgerows and the Europeand Commissions Joint Research Centre maintains that planting new hedgerows in one of the best ways to combat ecosystem fragmentation in farmed landscapes that are intensively farmed.
They have an important role to play
It’s not only the living beings that hedgerows support. Their deep roots also “help sequester carbon”. They also reduce flooding downstream, attract nutrients and pollutants out of water , preventing soil erosion. Something that we are in dire need of as the climate changes and floods are more frequent in built up areas.
The National Botanic Garden of Wales says that more flowers should be planted in hedgerows too (we’re always up to for more flowers!). These would attract and support pollinators so that they are less reliant on crops like oilseed rape which can be harmful to bees for example, as they are sprayed with neonicotinoid insecticides.(we won’t have harmful ingredients in our fragrance and definitely don’t want to see bees being harmed by them).
It’s also thought that hedgerows should be allowed to grow bigger and taller. Planting new ones is encouraged and they should be of a variety of species, instead of being planted, as is often seen with a single species.
Next time you walk past a hedgerow, just think about all the inhabitants and the benefits they are bringing to the earth - from pollination to carbon reduction. It’s a wonderful thought and let’s hope they continue to be planted and nurtured for the sake of the earth and all of us, both animals and humans.
