In last week's Observer Magazine, Dan Pearson wrote about collecting berries from hedgerows near him, so he could grow plants with local provenance.
In last week's Observer Magazine, Dan Pearson wrote about collecting berries from hedgerows near him, so he could grow plants with local provenance. This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot recently, so I read on with interest.
Put simply, a plant of local provenance has grown in its locality for a long time. By definition, it's a wild, native plant and has evolved over hundreds, even thousands of years in tune with its local environment. Self-seeded by wind, or spread by birds or mammals, each local strain of any species will be better suited to growing in its immediate environment than any other. A dog rose, Rosa canina growing in mainland Scotland, for example, will be better suited to a shorter growing season and lower temperatures, while the same species in Cornwall will have adapted to salty air and a longer growing season. What's more, these important genetic differences can determine when the plants come into leaf, flower and fruit, so the same species imported from elsewhere could upset the fine balance between local plants and the wildlife they support (which will also have evolved with their local environment).
It's not just wildlife that benefits from locally grown plants. Many gardens will now be looking a little bare, after last month's cold weather wiped out many of our plants used to milder conditions. Planted in a garden setting, local, native plants are almost guaranteed to thrive, because they have been growing in exactly the same enviornment for many years. They are much better placed to deal with a gradually changing climate, be it that of London or the Lake District.
I've been keen on growing local, wild plants in my garden for a while. So, inspired by Dan Pearson, I set off on Monday morning and gathered fruit from the local wild plants. We don't have hedgerows in Hackney, but we do have a canal, besides which grows the field rose, Rosa arvensis, common honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum, and ivy, Hedera helix.
I gathered a few hips from the rose (leaving plenty for the birds), took them home and dropped them in a glass of water. According to Dan, this simulates the process of the rosehip passing through a bird's stomach. (Honeysuckle berries are best sown fresh in autumn and the ivy berries were unripe, so I'll go back for them another time.)
I can't wait to get sowing on the weekend. I'll remove the seeds from their (now swollen) hips and sow them in a pot of fresh compost. As the seeds require a good dose of cold, followed by a warm spell to germinate, I'll put the pot straight outside and leave it be. Who knows, in spring I could go out and find my own Hackney field rose growing in the garden.
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