Petals Woodland
For the past four years we at Petals have been working hard
to develop and enrich our very own piece of native Sussex
Woodland.
Our Woodland stroll is an ongoing task and with each season
we hope to enocurage its natural development for the benefit
of all.
Our aims -
- to encouarge birds and other wildlife by providing
food and an undisturbed natural habitat
- to encourage and maintain native trees and plants -
through selective planting, coppicing and husbandry
- to provide an enjoyable, relaxing stroll for visitors to
Petals to enjoy
At the entrance to our Woodland we have developed an
informal garden to showcase a selection of native trees and shrubs.
The winding path then leads into the natural woodland where
Sweet Chestnuts, Birches and Beech provide a shady canopy
for the smaller plants below.
The centre section of the woodland has been left to nature, with the team at Petals simply building a pathway through, removing invasive plants species and coppicing where necessary.
At the far end of the stroll we are developing a more formal
woodland garden to showcase some of the beautiful non-native
species suitable for this environment. These include Japanese
Acers, Amercian Dogwoods, Giant Gunneras and much more.
Woodland Wildlife
Petals woodland and surrounding area is blessed with an array of wildlife, including a huge variety of birds, mammals and insects.
Our on going list of sightings includes an impressively diverse
selection of birds species, foxes, butterflies, wood mice, Bank Voles, Grass Snakes and more. Below is just a taste of some of the birds viewed around Petals -
Bird Sightings at Petals
Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Marsh Tit, Willow Tit
Blackbird
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfich, Hawfinch
Dunnock
Goldcrest
Jackdaw
Jay
Linnet
Magpie
Nuthatch
Rook
Siskin
Treecreeper
White Wagtail
Wood Pigeon
Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker
Wren
Woodland Plants
Petals woodland is blessed with the presence of naturally occurring English Bluebells. These wonderful plants appear in a carpet of elegant colour from mid May and create a truly beautiful blue haze throughout the woodland.
Shortly after the Bluebells begin to bloom the naturally seeded native Foxgloves send up their tall flower spikes and by mid June they are alive with the colour of their beautiful bell shaped blooms.
The woodland trees are a mix of Birch, Chestnut, Fagus and Prunus. Plus recent additions of Medlars, Cornus and Salix in the formal woodland gardens.
Other wonderful plant species to look out for include Wood Anemones, graceful ferns, Malus and Snowdrops.
Petals Bluebells - a carpet of colour!
Petals for Plants Woodland Photography by E. Hewett
Bird photos kindly donated by I. Standivan
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