Acorns

Looks good here for acorns although not as big as some years and the Jays are going mad around all the trees. The acorns I planted last year have not done anything put it down to the extreme weather but no bare oak trees about this year so a no evidence of Oak processionary moths/caterpillars possibly the weather helped as it was said that this year was going to be a bad year for them. Do have some young oak trees growing so will transplant when a decent size as they are in the wrong place amongst the flower beds but good to see.

We planted about twenty in a planter but with the very hot weather and being away I think we may have lost them as last month all the leaves on the saplings had shriveled

Will get some more acorns to take home and try again 

Growing some now, a few from Devon and Wales, there are different types of Oak trees so it's always interesting to see what appears. The old country way is to pick some up and throw them into the hedges etc keep the system going. 

I sit my acorns then seedlings in a big water tray as it’s easy to keep them moist👍🏻

The local squirrels do all the hard work for us in our garden, we just dig up and pot on the saplings 

Just read a very interesting article about the loss of insects, particularly butterflies and moths across the UK. It would seem that the loss of diversity rich habitats are the problem. The article suggests we plant holly, flowering ivy, elms and nettles and wildflowers in our gardens and rewild more areas to create habitats that allow butterflies and other endangered insects space to feed, breed and shelter. With out our help, they suggest numbers of butterflies will continue to fall. Maybe we need to look a little wider at the bigger picture.

+1, it was vaunted many years ago rewilding an area in you garden however small. It works too👍🏻. Anyone who loves Bumble Bees flowering ivy is a must👍🏻. Echinacea are super long flowerers & the Bees just can’t leave them alone 🐝.

Was involved in a project some years back where whips of a variety of trees/bushes were planted/reintroduced into the ‘wild’. These came from a nursery where native seeds were collected and grown on. Love going back to look at them ‘today’! Now involved in wild flower projects around our area. Am going to encourage our group/council to focus more on bee and insect important plants now.

We hopefully leave the planet with a better chance than it had before.

I fish in an upland area here in Wales, part of an Organic farm with only Cattle and Sheep grazing. There are  no conifers within 400 yds of the lake and its fed from the surrounding bog land. We have seen however illegal introduction of Deer and now Wild boar over the last decade or so. These are the only discernable changes. It was noticable that the insect life was much less this year with fewer Sedges, Damsel Flies and Daddies. The weather pattern was adverse however. Now my guess is that nature sorts itself out and next year with different weather the fly life will be back. This is not uncommon as is the volume of acorns on different years. No panic yet at this end.