Spring is on the way…..

Every year Yaxley Countryside Volunteers has a programme of planting bulbs at sites around the village. Pound Lane Pond, the Community Orchard and the bank in the Rec were the focus in 2023 and as February moves into March you will see a real splash of colour – the white Snowdrops, orange and purple Crocus and yellow Daffs as well as other spring flowers. These early flowers are very important for wildlife coming out of hibernation and also help to cheer us all up after the dank and dark days over winter.

An important activity for us at this time of year is carrying out maintenance in the orchard so that the trees are at their best for the next season. This involves mulching around the bases of the trees to help reduce competition, loosening the ties that attach the trees to their supports so that they can grow and most importantly pruning the apples and pears. Stoned fruits such as damsons and plums are pruned in summer but most of the trees in the orchard are apples and pears so this takes a few weeks in late winter. Pruning helps to remove dead and diseased wood, reduces the spread of fungal diseases and pests and helps to produce better quality fruit in autumn. If you would like to learn how to prune your own fruit trees please do get in touch and come along to see how we do it.

By the end of last February there was frog spawn in Willow Pond. The pond near the orchard is seasonal and we always keep our fingers crossed that it stays wet enough for long enough so that the tadpoles can turn into frogs. Last year was a good year for this and the frogs had hopped off before it finally dried up in the summer. Considering the very wet winter we have had then things look promising for this year too. It helps a lot if the frog spawn is undisturbed so please avoid throwing sticks etc into the water and in particular we ask that dog owners prevent their pets from splashing about in the pond.

If you would like to help us look after wildlife in the village please do get in touch:

Email: secretary@ycv.org.uk or have a look at our website: www.ycv.org.uk