Ivydene Gardens Box to Crowberry Wild Flower Families Gallery:
Crowberry Family

Click on Underlined Text in:-

Common Name to view that Plant Description Page
Botanical Name to link to Plant or Seed Supplier
Flowering Months to view photos
Habitat to view further Natural Habitat details and Botanical Society of the British Isles Distribution Map

Crowberry Family:-

Crowberry Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Crowberry

Empetrum nigrum

April-May

A low-growing evergreen shrub of well-drained acidic soils. It is found on moorlands and mountains, and on blanket mire where it can increase greatly after burning or where dry surfaces have been bared by erosion (Rodwell, 1991b). 0-1270 m (Cairngorms, S. Aberdeen).

Flower from East Moor in Peak District on 22 May

Flowers from East Moor in Peak District on 22 May

Foliage from Nairn in Nairnshire Scotland on 24 June

Form from Beinn Eighe on 29 June

Monday, 15 March 2010 from the Hope Farm Diary

"The Next Five Years

During the first ten years, the RSPB has achieved its core objective for Hope Farm, showing that increasing farmland bird populations could be achieved whilst running a profitable conventional arable farm. In fact, the results have far exceeded expectations. However, it remains clear that sadly this success is not being reflected nationally with the national Farmland Bird Indicator (FBI) best considered stable. There remains a need to export our farmland biodiversity success story so it can be translated into national increases. The Campaign for the Farmed Environment should help address this increasing the area of in field options such as wild bird cover, skylark plots and nectar mixtures. 

To maximise the messages from Hope Farm we have spent the winter working on the next five year strategy, which has now successfully been taken through Board and Council.  The aim is for the RSPB to expand the sites capacity to examine the developing areas of climate change and diffuse pollution, whilst continuing to build on the biodiversity successes of the last ten years, and maintaining agricultural productivity and economic returns.

In order to retain our relevance within the debate and continue to work towards our core objectives, it the Hope Farm strategy will incorporate the following four principles:

A) Maximising biodiversity

Farmland bird recovery remains a key objective for the RSPB. We are currently analysing land management decisions and bird population responses over the last 10 years to fully understand which factors have had the biggest impact on our FBI increases. This will evaluate the benefits of individual measures and assess which combination would give the most cost effective benefits in the widest range of arable scenarios. Future work will include develop agri-environment options that provide winter seed food for the "hungry gap" period - mid February to mid April as well as refining our farm management to encourage species that have failed to respond so far e.g. turtle dove and corn bunting.

B) Maintaining a profitable business

Day-to-day management decisions will continue to be given equal weight to the impacts on the economic return of the farm as to the enhancement of its environmental value. This philosophy will become even more essential with greater flexibility in commodity prices.

C) Responding to climate change

We will aim to reduce the farm's total greenhouse gas footprint by 15% within the next 5 years. We propose to develop and demonstrate measures to reduce the farm's greenhouse gas footprint in line with the proposed target for the agriculture sector. Emphasis will be placed on "lowering the carbon profile of commercial arable farming" by maximising food production per tonne of carbon.

 D) Reducing diffuse pollution

 Establish a robust baseline monitoring programme in consultation with conservation science, water and agricultural policy, to estimate current levels of nitrate, phosphate and soil particulate entering watercourses on Hope Farm. This programme will need to be extensive, incorporating regular and peak rainfall sampling."

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How to choose a ripe and fresh Crowberry Fruit.

Unusual Fruits You Can Grow

Organic gardeners are often more adventurous in their choice of crop varieties. Here is a list of more unusual fruits (not the "usual suspects" like apples, raspberries and the rest), many of which are well known as ornamentals, and others perhaps more difficult to find. Permaculture fans may find this list of interest for filling some of the niches that might otherwise be left vacant.

"The development of water saving techniques for agriculture which have helped farmers in some of the driest regions of the world , has won Lancaster University a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.

The Prizes, announced on the 18th November, highlight world-class work taking place in higher and further education, in Lancaster’s case its contribution to one of the biggest challenges facing humankind - feeding seven billion people against a background of climate change. The prize winning research has been developed by a Lancaster team of plant biologists, led by Distinguished Professor Bill Davies in the Lancaster Environment Centre, who have shown how the signals that roots in drying soil send to the shoots can help plants cope more successfully with drought and produce better yield. This new understanding of how plants reacts to stress has now been exploited with the agriculture industry by the group working in collaboration with researchers around the world. Water saving approaches to irrigation and to the management of crop production have resulted in significant water saving and better crop production in regions of the world which suffer water scarcity. This means increased profitability for farmers and better conditions for people living in challenging environments which are becoming even more challenging as the climate changes.

Lancaster science has been used to develop new systems to grow cereals in North China, grape vines and top fruit in Australia and in viticulture and vegetable production around the Mediterranean and in the USA. New water saving techniques have also been developed with the UK horticultural and agricultural industries. The Lancaster team has trained a large number of research biologists who work around the world on projects aimed at contributing to food security."

Lovemaking Tips For Seniors 

 
1. Wear your glasses to make sure your partner is actually in the bed.

2. Set timer for 3 minutes, in case you doze off in the middle.

3. Set the mood with lighting. (Turn them ALL OFF!)

4. Make sure you put 999 on your speed dial before you begin.

5. Write partner's name on your hand in case you can't remember..

6. Use extra polygrip so your teeth don't end up under the bed.

7. Have Oxygen ready in case you actually complete the act..

8. Make all the noise you want....the neighbours are deaf, too.

9. If it works, call everyone you know with the good news!!

                          10. Don't even think about trying it twice. .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . ... . . . . . . . .

 
'OLD' IS WHEN... 
Your sweetie says, 'Let's go upstairs and make love,' and you answer, 'Pick one; I can't do both!'

'OLD' IS WHEN... 
Your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes and you're barefoot.

'OLD' IS WHEN... 
Going bra-less pulls all the wrinkles out of your face.

'OLD' IS WHEN.... 
You don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.

'OLD' IS WHEN... 
You are cautioned to slow down by the doctor instead of by the police.

'OLD' IS WHEN.. 
'Getting a little action' means you don't need to take a laxative today.

'OLD' IS WHEN.... 
'Getting lucky' means you find your car in the parking lot..

'OLD' IS WHEN... 
An 'all nighter' means not getting up to use the bathroom.

'OLD' IS WHEN.... 
You're not sure if these are facts or jokes.