THE lowering sun and shorter days are the first signs that autumn is gently creeping in. Trees and shrubs are straining to hold onto their foliage and the last of the unpicked apples are falling and rotting in the wet grass. The melancholy of the season is enlivened, however, by the final shout from boisterous dahlias, blazing orange rudbeckias and shimmering crocosmias. Joining the exuberance of this closing spectacle are pastel-coloured drifts of Michaelmas daisies, with a vigour and abundance that harks back to the benign days of early summer. The 19th-century poet Letitia Landon wrote of the way these daisies 'call past bloom to mind, to promise future spring'
The family is large and encompasses species from North America-stout plants with strongly coloured flowers-and low-growing forms that creep along rocky ledges in alpine areas. For many gardeners, it is the smallflowered species that is the most prized: long flowering and floriferous, with clouds of tiny star-like flowers that are full of nectar, offering a late banquet to bees and insects. The flowers are never more than half an inch wide, but produced in such profusion that the whole plant appears hung with blossom. Importantly, they shrug off the cold, wind and rain that arrive with a British autumn.
Esta historia es de la edición October 16, 2024 de Country Life UK.
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Esta historia es de la edición October 16, 2024 de Country Life UK.
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A Nose for Nature -With an uncanny ability to detect elusive species in the wild, dogs are poised to play a vital role in conservation and biosecurity.
Ꮓiba seems to be the perfect colleague: hard-working, efficient and fun to be around. However, Ziba isn't a person; she's a conservation detection dog, especially trained to sniff out the presence of rare bats and birds. The sixyear-old German shorthaired pointer is one of an increasing number of dogs helping to conserve wildlife. Similar to sniffer dogs employed to detect drugs or explosives, these detection dogs are using their extraordinary sense of smell to identify anything from great crested newts to pine martens.
Duck and Cover - With a comical and heart-warming call, the eider or 'cuddy duck' is a convivial bird that was highly favoured and protected by Northumberland's patron saint, says
Anyone who has spent time on the rugged, castle-fringed coast of Northumberland will be familiar with the call of the eider duck. The male emits a fluty 'ahoooh' that sounds amazed and a little censorious. The female responds with a throaty cackle-Dame Barbara Windsor to the drake's Kenneth Williams, if you like. There's something good humoured, fond and comforting in the eiders' calling. It evokes feelings of nostalgia even in those hearing it for the first time.
Not to be sneezed at
The ritual and performance of snuff, the 'titillating dust' that has fuelled creativity and enhanced social situations since the 16th century, is still popular today, discovers
Where her tears fell, asters grew
Small-flowered asters, with their quiet beauty and clouds of starry blooms, are the final shout of autumn, advises
You had me at Merlot
The British wine industry is growing at a rate of Nebuchadnezzars, altering the palate of the countryside market, finds
And they're off!
Four historic country houses with long-standing racing credentials come to the market in prime sporting areas of Berkshire and Oxfordshire
Hooked on classics
A new generation of designers is learning the language of Greek and Roman architecture, finds
England at its best
The Exmoor National Park Authority is celebrating its 70th birthday. Kate Green recounts what makes this 'high country of the winds', of deer, dark skies, tough ponies and resilient farmers, so special
Once upon a time in the west
Having returned to the fabled Grimersta lochs and streams of Lewis for the first time in 40 years, our correspondent finds himself reliving the glory
Meet the tusk force
The Chinese water deer, with its distinctive tusks and delicious venison, has thrived here since escaping from deer parks in the 19th century. Paula Lester stalks one for her supper