Time Outside in Nature

Warmth Arrives, Rain Showers, New Shoots, Emerging Butterflies, Abundant Blossom, Shortened Nights, Seed-Sowing. 

Issue 8 April 2020

April
Time Outside in Nature

Now we've passed the Spring Equinox life is really getting going at an increased pace out in the wild world. During April the days lengthen by a whopping two and a half hours - wheyhey!

Looking at the ancient names for April gives a clear idea of the general conditions this month.  The Romans called it Aprilis, a derivation of the Italian aperire - to open. In Scottish gaelic it's called Giblean from the gaelic word for drops of rain! The Anglo Saxon name was Eosturmonath -  the month of the goddess Eostre.

Renowned for its April showers, this month its actually one of the driest. That said we can expect sudden downpours over the coming weeks, seemingly arriving from nowhere, then swiftly passing. This weather phenomena occurs in April because although the gradually warming weather heats up the surface air, the air higher up is still being cooled by chilly northerly winds from the Arctic. Remember too that we still experience sharp frosts in April. 

With the new guidelines on staying at home I've been spending a lot of time outside in my garden, growing and tending as well as noting the seasonal changes, as we shift into Spring. 
In my hour of daily exercise outside I'm looking even harder at the hedgerows and woods near home, to find signs of Spring. These concentrated periods of being outside in nature are really important to me. I'm sure I'm not alone in that. 

Walking outside in big spaces helps me get perspective on things. I wonder if it’s something to do with scale – physically having room around you to move and think and problems seeming smaller under a big sky. Certainly, I do some of my best thinking outside.

I'm still taking lots of photos outdoors, charting the growth of plants, the buds unfurling on the trees, the sky, the wildlife that's awakening and moving around. I find solace in curating these photos and posting on social media to chronicle the changing seasons.  

Noticing the small details helps me connect with the current season rather than always looking ahead to the next.

"Look deep in Nature and then you will understand everything better."

- Albert Einstein

There's now lots of scientific evidence telling us what we gardeners have suspected all along - that being out in Nature is good for us. Trees give off phytoncides which help boost our immune systems when we breath them in; serotonin is released when sunlight hits our skin or our eye's retinas and there's a bacteria in soil that triggers the release of serotonin. Add that to light exercise outside which releases endorphins into our bloodstreams and you can see that the combined effects of light, soil, plants and benevolent bacteria in the soil is a bit like reaching into a natural medicine cabinet!

Then there's the benefits the natural world has on our mental health. Spending time in nature has been found to help with  problems like anxiety and depression and taking part in nature-based activities can contribute to a reduction in levels of anxiety, stress and depression. 

If you're interested to learn more about how the great outdoors can aid mental well being I recommend Emma Mitchell's book 'The Wild Remedy'. Over the course of a year, this monthly diary charts Emma's nature walks and how these impact her mood.

WILDNESS

Here at the very start of April it's worth mentioning how wonderful the blackthorn looks in the hedgerows. For much of the year you probably don't notice these large deciduous shrubs but now the dainty looking white flowers are a reviving sight. 
Blackthorn flowers bloom before the leaves come out and look far too delicate to cope with the high winds and intermittent cold temperatures  - but they do! 

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) is named for its vicious thorns. These long thorns are really sharp - I've had to have them removed from thick boot soles - and they cause particularly sore wounds, as anyone who's pruned a blackthorn hedge will testify!  

Historical, the dense wood was used to make witches staffs, walking sticks, clubs and rakes!

Blackthorn flowers were used to treat intestinal and stomach pain; the bark and roots as an astringent and leaves as a gargle for mouth ulcers. Sloes were also used to treat warts - a sloe was rubbed on the wart then thrown over the shoulder!

The other star feature of the blackthorn is the blue-black fruit or sloes which appear in the Autumn. Extremely bitter, sloes have to be frozen to increase the sugars, or picked after a frost. Then you can use them to make sloe gin, sloe wine or sloe spiced brandy. Watch this space in the Autumn .....!


SUPERMOON
Look up at the moon on the 8 April. This month's full moon on the 8th coincides with April's perigee, the point when the moon is closest to the Earth. When this happens we get a Supermoon and the moon looks particularly large and bright. Let me know if you see it. 

Clearly at the moment we have a responsibility to stay home and avoid social contact outside of our families. However you decide to spend your days do try and get outside safely if you can - in your garden or on a balcony or taking your daily exercise outside away from others under big skies. Let me know what April highlights you spot and/or photograph.

Keep well, breathe and remember to look outside and notice the details. 

If you have any questions you can reach me via my website  www.plotgardendesign.co.uk and please  follow/like PLOT Garden Design on social media to receive my seasonal updates and photos.