Falkland 17th and 18th November 2011
This week we were in Falkland fighting a war against the extremely invasive Rhododendron ponticum. This is a woody plant introduced from the Mediterranean in the 18th century to decorate Victorian Estates, but which now dominates a great deal of the British countryside.
Although pretty to look at in flower it is an extremely toxic and fast growing plant that will cover huge areas of ground. Its leaves are waxy and toxic so it doesn’t even provide a good meal for any of our native animals and is not controlled by grazing as our native plants are. All of this means that it blocks out light for our native wild flowers and trees and discourages our native animals, leaving areas where it is present barren of any of the joys of our native countryside.
Clearly this miserable plant must be stopped!
This was our task on Thursday and Friday and despite the weather being a bit wet we soldiered on to rescue a large patch of Birch woodland. The huge piles of Rhododendron left behind will slowly suffocate and die. Job Done!
