Inside Jordans

June Countryside Catch Up

Posted by Rachel Marston 04 Jun 2009 9:38am

June is the month for wildflowers, so all the hard work the nature-friendly Conservation Grade® farmers who grow cereals for us will start paying off. These farmers are all British, they grow oats, barley and wheat for us to use in our cereals and cereal bars. But they also work really hard to convert 10% of their land into a paradise for wildlife by initiatives like; planting great swathes of wildflowers, planting hedgerows and wild bird food. We pay them a premium to do this conservation work because it is time consuming and complicated, but they are extremely dedicated and when the wildflowers begin to bloom it all becomes worthwhile.

Look out for poppies, just beginning to appear in fields, their distinctive red flowers only last a couple of weeks and for me their appearance heralds the start of summer.

Closer to home, plants like foxgloves might appear in your garden, these are greatly loved by bees so they are well worth having in plentiful supply.

Watch for tiny fruit growing on trees, now the blossom has gone you should be able to see small fruit beginning to appear on apple, plum and pear trees. Look out for horse chestnuts too, you should be able to spot little conkers beginning to grow. And of course sort fruits like strawberries and raspberries will begin to appear in shops, just in time for Wimbledon. I have a few little wild strawberry plants growing between cracks on my patio and they have already produced a heavy crop of mini fruit which I have eaten along with my muesli for breakfast.

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