Let’s not beat around the bush, January can be a bit of a rotten old month, the excesses of Christmas are over and for most of us, it’s back to work, and the thought of paying the bills caused by the excesses of Christmas!
But wait, what’s this? As ever, nature has the answer. But first, a touch of Roman mythology.
January is of course named after the Roman god Janus, the protector of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces, one casting an eye over the past, the other with the ability to see into the future. It was to Janus that the Romans would make promises for the year ahead, but the idea of New Year’s Resolutions was actually much older than this, dating as far back as 2000 BCE when the Babylonians resolved to pay their debts and return borrowed farm machinery.
See, even way back then people were popping next door to ask for a quick loan of a lawnmower, and ‘forgetting’ to return it… there really is nothing new under the sun.
As many of our customers, and regular readers of our blogs will know, the Green Team Interiors headquarters are located in Steep Marsh, on farmland in the glorious County of Hampshire. Look out of any of our windows and your view will be filled with an ever-changing landscape, as rural life continues blissfully around us.
Of course, right now there’s a bit more brown than green, the trees seem a little bare, and regrettably for the local farmers, there is quite a lot of standing water. But that’s the thing about nature, we know that as sure as night follows day, the scene will change, and before the end of the month there will be colours.
Winter on a farm is a time for general farm maintenance, planting, draining ditches and trenches, and vitally for so much wildlife, hedgerow management.
The word hedgerow actually encompasses far more than ‘just’ hedges, it includes features such as natural banks, trees, walls, fences and even gates, so when we say management, we really mean management, there is an awful lot to look after.
Fun fact. It is estimated that there are more than 95,000 miles of hedges in the UK.
Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Ash, English Oak, and Holly bushes are all in common use as hedgerows, while nesting birds, hedgehogs, dormice, and voles all find shelter and protection here, with current estimates showing that more than 130 species of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, mosses and lichens rely on hedgerows for their existence.
January might be a bit of a quiet month, but it’s so much better for putting spring into such sharp relief, because when it does arrive (and it is on the way!), it is so much more welcome, and spectacular.
So, embrace January for its genuine charms, but also remember all the hard work that goes into the month, the British countryside would be a very different, and much less wonderful place without it.
