2nd April 2022
The blackthorn – prunus spinoza- is native to Britain, grows to a height of 5-7m and has a life span of about 100 years. It has a dense mass of spiny branches that make it a good hedging plant and provides a safe nesting place for wildlife. Its white flowers come in the early spring before its leaves appear. Hedges white with blossom in a cold spring give rise to the term ‘blackthorn winter.’ These early blooms provide food for bees and other insects. The leaves provide food for numerous moth caterpillars, and both caterpillars and later the blackthorn’s fruit – sloes – provide food for birds and small mammals. Sloes look like a small plum but are hard and have a very sour taste – yet they make a good flavour for gin. The blackthorn wood is hard wearing and strong and traditionally used for walking sticks and tool handles.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4: 31-32
Let’s build bridges, not walls. Martin Luther King Jn
The Green Tau 