The Hedgerow Project

What wild plants have found their way into your garden?
Rosebay Willowherb outside my kitchen window.

tattered leaves,
autumn-singed,
waiting for the wind.

perfect buds,
tightly curled,
biding until spring.

Here’s a date to pop in your diary! This is a fabulous opportunity to come along and learn about the wonderful birds in our locality. All welcome.

The fab Jo is leading a foraging walk in Kinsale this weekend.

Here's a wee blessing for those of you planting trees. (I think this one will be an annual repost).

A Blessing for the Trees just planted
And the Humans tending them

May the land welcome you.

May you gently
Ease your way
Into the community
Of life
In this place.

May your roots grow
Deep enough
And wide enough
To balance and ground you
Through gales
And storms.
May they draw
the nourishment
You need to thrive.

As they wrap themselves
Around rock
and twine
Amongst neighbours
May they reassure you
That you do not
Grow alone.

May you have both
Strength and flexibility
In balance.
May you stretch
Your branches
Tall and wide
And unfurl your
Glorious leaves
To honour
The sun,
And the night sky.

As you grow
May you be a
Sanctuary for those
That need it,
May you be
A source of shelter,
Nourishment
And protection.

May your seeds
Be carried to fertile ground
And may you have a great
Forest of descendants.

May you feel the
Awakening of spring,
The abundance of summer,
The release of autumn,
And the rest of winter.

May the winds strengthen you,
May the rains cleanse you,
May the sun enliven you,
May the dark rich earth nourish you.

May you grow old
In good company,
And when the end
Of your days comes
May you
Feel the loving embrace of the land
That welcomed you.

Jen Wallace

Today I was tending our land with a scythe, and am totally taken with the simplicity, the gentleness of it; the deep relationship and focus it engenders.

This weekend we caught a glimpse of the benefits of rewilding from a moth perspective.
Our local mothguy set a moth box in our ARK ( a field that has been rewilding for the last 3 years) two nights ago.
When we opened it in the morning with the kids we found and released 150 macro moths (we couldn't count the micro ones). We counted 35 different species, including a few rare finds. It is the greatest quantity and variety he has come across locally.

Thank you Dara Fitzpatrick for a wonderful moth filled morning.

We walked through
A woodland
The 5 year old and I,
Stick swords in hand,
Chatting about the
Movement of the plant life,
The miracle of the leaf
Making food from sunlight,
The surge for the gap in the canopy,

It's a war, he says.
I pause.

The great forest replies gently
No, it's not like that at all.
Have you forgotten
My love?
All this wonderful life
Is us.
We are not here to compete
Or battle,
But to grow,
To heal,
To nourish,
To share,
To die
To decompose
To feed.
Each playing a part in the whole;
Repairing the wounds,
Co-creating
Life
And beauty.

Do you remember?

A Blessing for the Trees just planted
And the Humans tending them

May the land welcome you.

May you gently
Ease your way
Into the community
Of life
In this place.

May your roots grow
Deep enough
And wide enough
To balance and ground you
Through gales
And storms.
May they draw
the nourishment
You need to thrive.

As they wrap themselves
Around rock
and twine
Amongst neighbours
May they reassure you
That you do not
Grow alone.

May you have both
Strength and flexibility
In balance.
May you stretch
Your branches
Tall and wide
And unfurl your
Glorious leaves
To honour
The sun,
And the night sky.

As you grow
May you be a
Sanctuary for those
That need it,
May you be
A source of shelter,
Nourishment
And protection.

May your seeds
Be carried to fertile ground
And may you have a great
Forest of descendants.

May you feel the
Awakening of spring,
The abundance of summer,
The release of autumn,
And the rest of winter.

May the winds strengthen you,
May the rains cleanse you,
May the sun enliven you,
May the dark rich earth nourish you.

May you grow old
In good company,
And when the end
Of your days comes
May you
Feel the loving embrace of the land
That welcomed you.

Jen Wallace