Old Lands

20/03/2026

have just listed four workshops on their website (heeled.in) running throughout this growing season. When Marrianne first arrived here, her ambition was to host the best teachers whose perspectives would not only provide an inspiring and galvanising day for participants but also deepen their own connection with the garden and landscape beyond.

The landscape architect will be running a workshop to explore our personal responses and creative connection to the land.

A writing workshop, Rewriting Inner Landscapes with Marchelle Farrell , will be considering what it means to be in dialogue with a garden or to have a symbiotic relationship with the landscape around you.

Graeme Corbett will be here for a slow day of flower making in the garden.

And within a couple of days of the Solstice there will be a day of breathwork, yoga and flowers with Evangeline di Michele

All workshops include a three course lunch and refreshments throughout the day. Head to the website for more information and to book.

      

20/03/2026

A picture perfect parkland - now The Belties , The Ancient Cattle of Wales and little Lowlines have landed this side of The Big House

07/03/2026

There is a small population of swifts that returns to the church each year, and we always hope that, with the insects the land here provides, they might one day choose to pitch up here for the summer.Patrick has been busy improving what we have to offer, building a line of swift boxes beneath the northern eaves. Alongside them we have rigged up a swift call audio created by Graham Fell of the Kendal Men in Sheds group. Graham is a key figure in South Cumbria for swift conservation and has developed practical, low-cost ways to help these endangered birds.With luck, the calls might catch the attention of any disgruntled swifts from the church, or perhaps ones passing through in search of a new home.

07/03/2026

There is a small population of swifts that returns to the church each year, and we always hope that, with the insects the land here provides, they might one day choose to pitch up here for the summer.Patrick has been busy improving what we have to offer, building a line of swift boxes beneath the northern eaves. Alongside them we have rigged up a swift call audio created by Graham Fell of the Kendal Men in Sheds group. Graham is a key figure in South Cumbria for swift conservation and has developed practical, low-cost ways to help these endangered birds.With luck, the calls might catch the attention of any disgruntled swifts from the church, or perhaps ones passing through in search of a new home.

06/03/2026

Lane banks have always been quiet indicators of the nutrient status of the wider countryside. Thirty years ago the lanes here were flower rich, with plants such as Red Campion, Greater Stitchwort, Wild Basil and Betony scattered through the sward. Today many hold little more than coarse grasses, Nettles, Cleavers, Cow Parsley, Brambles and Ivy.A gradual rise in nitrogen is largely responsible. Ammonia drifting from nearby intensive agriculture, NOx emissions from vehicles, and the routine mowing of verges without removing the cuttings all contribute nutrients that accumulate year after year.

Last summer we surveyed the lane running down towards Old Lands using DAFORS scores to give a baseline of the vegetation. In an effort to reduce nutrient levels and give the smaller, less competitive plants a chance,   Sam today strimmed and raked two sections of the lane bank. The work was done carefully, avoiding the wildflowers that remain, and the cut material removed after strimming so that nutrients are taken away rather than left to enrich the soil.We’ll keep recording the vegetation over the coming seasons and see whether the balance begins to shift back towards the species that once defined these banks.

04/03/2026

This Spring Brittlestem (Psathyrella spadiceogrisea) was spotted on our way out to the fields this morning, growing on fallen Tilia wood. Checking online revealed a 2019 paper that shows several related species are impossible to identify without detailed microscope and chemical work, but whichever one of the group it is, this is a new species for Old Lands.

03/03/2026

Since early October we have been trialling different methods to reintroduce seed harvested here by back into established swards. In some areas we have taken a gardeners’ approach, carefully working small patches after removing the turf, while elsewhere we have harrowed larger sections to open things up. We have sown into fields with the sheep and cattle still grazing, experimented with bags in the chest freezer to trigger vernalisation, tried turf transfers, and a handful of other approaches guided by the weather.
Time will tell whether we can find a method that works best for us, something practical enough to use at scale across the landscape and help us to accelerate the return of plants lost from the landscape. Until last year we had largely relied on patience, waiting for natural regeneration to occur unaided: seed arriving on the wind, caught in our turn ups or transferred on haymakers machinery , or simply carried in the cattle’s gut tract.But with the nature crisis as it is, Sam has conceded and allowed us to give the process a small nudge. So, when we found the first signs this morning that the seed, particularly the yellow rattle, has taken in some of the autumn-sown, strimmed pods, and that the relocated scabious turf sections are thriving, we literally jumped for joy.

02/03/2026

Great excitement ’s Walled Garden this afternoon, when Sam spotted a Morel growing at the entrance to the potting shed. This is the first Morel (Morchella) of any species seen at Old Lands. Taking the identification further is surprisingly difficult, as Common Morel is generally found as a mycorrhizal associate of trees (not on garden paths), whilst the woodchip-dwelling Conical Morel is usually darker in colour. Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol 2 says the six species in the Morchella conica/elata complex are “almost identical” and need DNA analysis for identification, so ultimately we have to conclude this is “a Morel of some sort” and leave it at that.



Sent from my iPhone

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01/03/2026

Happy St Davids Day

17/02/2026