May 2023

20 Buckden Roundabout May 2023 Please mention the Buckden Roundabout when replying to advertisers Adverts PAINTING & DECORATING Interior and Exterior Trevor Crowe: Property Services, Brickwork and Plastering, Roofing and Gutters, Patios, Fencing Carpentry & Conservatory Roof Cleaning 01480 810963 or 07780 588715 A deep Down Dry Clean for all your Carpets and Rugs Immediate use as soon as cleaned! Substantial benefit to asthma sufferers No colour run or shrinkage All Upholstery, including Leather Upholstery also cleaned: Call Bryan on: 01487 840310 Or 07766 576381 Need help planning and booking your next Holiday ? We can book: Flights Cruises Tailor - Made Trips UK Breaks You are safe in the knowledge that everything we book is fully protected. e: sarah@hotchillitravel.co.uk t: 07801 600387 w: www.hotchillitravel.com PATINA RESTORATION French polishing & Furniture Restoration. Fine Craftsmanship & Quality Work Telephone: 07980185440 www.patinarestorations.co.uk No Mow May? A neighbour asked me last year ‘ why are we asked not to mow our lawns in May? ’ This is my slightly circuitous way of explaining it. What is the link between salmon, trees and our gardens? In Peter Wohlleben ’ s book ‘ The Secret Network of Nature ’ we learn how salm- on battle their way up the rivers of North America in order to spawn. For millennia many have been caught and eaten along the way by bears. The leftovers are finished off by other mammals, birds and insects, finally being broken down by fungi and bacteria. All these species excrete (poop) the remains of their meals. Eventually they too die and their remains also add to the nitrogen and phosphorus that fertilise the forests. The growth rings of the trees show a direct link between the number of salmon and the health of the trees – basical- ly, the trees grow taller and stronger because of the network of spe- cies that live off the salmon. Once the salmon goes, eventually so too do the trees. Think of the ‘ Blood, fish and bone ’ that gardeners buy for their roses. It ’ s the same compounds, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium! We don ’ t have bears leaving salmon carcasses on our lawns – alt- hough I have seen a large pike skeleton left by otters at Wicken Fen. However, all the insects, birds, mammals, fallen leaves and branches that die and decay in our garden are doing the same job as the salm- on, in helping fertilise our soil. The micro - organisms that live in on the nutrients in the soil then bind it together, preventing the wind blowing it or torrential rain from washing it away. They say the UK is a nation of gardeners, yet we are in the bottom 10% of countries for our biodiversity survival. Nature is fundamental to the Earth ’ s well - being, which in turns sustains all of us. By leaving our lawns uncut during May, by cutting them a bit longer and bit less often the rest of the year, and (if we can) by home - composting our lawn clippings, we allow more plants, insects, and other species to live in, on and around our garden, helping to reduce the loss of na- ture, at the same time fertilising our gardens naturally. This can also help reduce the risk of flooding – our lawns and other garden plants intercept rainfall and take up water from the soil, slowing and reduc- ing the run - off that causes floods. As you wander around the village in May, take a little time to spot the many species of plants and insects enjoying the uncut lawns, and enjoy the minutiae of life at your feet. Further Reading Peter Wohlleben ‘ The Secret Network of Nature ’, Vintage, 2019. www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk, a partnership between the Royal Horticultural Society and The Wildlife Trusts. The Butterfly Brothers, ‘ Wild Your Garden: Create a Sanctuary for Nature ’, 2020 Dorling Kindersley Ltd. - Tasha Marsh