The Glen Throughout the Year

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group displays Information for Visitors on the notice board close to the Jubilee Gates:

JANUARY 2018

WINTER IN THE GLEN

We hope you enjoy your visit to The Glen. Maybe you come this way often or maybe this is your first visit but whether you are simply walking through or coming to explore the area, we hope you like what you see and will want to come again.

The Glen is a lovely haven for birds and small mammals and even in the depth of winter there is so much to see and enjoy. Already there are bulbs poking through the ground and it will not be long before the snowdrops and crocuses put on their show. If you walk along the top path you will be able to see some of the hellebore already in flower opposite the Millennium Green. You will probably be able to spot several bird and bat boxes up in the trees.

If you are around on a Tuesday morning you may well see a group of volunteers in their yellow tops working in the gardens. They come along each week, not to try and turn The Glen into a manicured garden, but rather to stop it getting too overgrown and out of control. We want it to feel a very natural, slightly wild but also safe place to walk or play or sit and enjoy.

Fortunately the council now do the sweeping so we can spend our time cutting back overhanging branches and brambles, planting bulbs and keeping the water flowing as much as possible. Last year we planted about six oak saplings which we hope will mature to become healthy trees.

We are a very small but friendly group and we really enjoy what we do, but we do need more help. If you think you would like to join us please come along on a Tuesday morning between 10.0 and 12.0 and introduce yourself.

We have a good selection of tools so all you need bring is yourself and possibly your gardening gloves, (although we also have some of those). You will be very welcome.

OCTOBER 2017

THE GLEN IN AUTUMN

The Conservation Group have continued to cut back a lot

of the laurel on both sides of the stream so that visitors

can now see as well as hear the water running.

The leaves are turning to their Autumn colours and al-

ready beginning to fall in large numbers. Our volunteer

group is hoping that EDDC will be able to help us to

keep the paths clear, sweeping leaves is hard work!

Hornbeams at the Glen

Hornbeams in the Glen October 2017

The grey squirrels are feasting on the ripening berries and

swelling nuts and there seems to be a bumper harvest

this year. Soon there will be a blaze of reds and oranges

thoughout the Glen and after the leaves have fallen the

banches will be stark and bare.

We will do our best to keep the paths and waterways clear

but would love more help. We are a fiendly group who

meet in the Glen at 10am Tuesday mornings and work

until noon or until enegy runs out. Care to join us? No

special skills needed just sturdy shoes/wellies and gloves.

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group

JUNE 2017

SUMMER IN THE GLEN

The wild flowers are in great abundance again this year. The Cow Parsley covers many areas of The Glen sending frothy creamy white flowers more than waist high in many places, hiding the Bluebells which flowered under the deciduous trees which are now fully in leaf.

The Gunnera down by the water's edge is thrusting large leaves upwards.

In the damp patches near the waterfall are clumps of Wild Garlic with broad green leaves, white flowers and distinctive smell. Unfortunately a very large number of the leaves were picked and then abandoned by the side of the stream. It is hoped they will reappear next year.

The Rhododendrons and Azaleas continue to please with their bright coloured blooms and the Laurel bushes continue to outgrow our attempts to tame them.

The Friends of The Glen meet on Tuesday mornings at 10am and would really like more help. Could you help us? No plant or horticultural knowledge is required, just a willingness to mingle with our friendly mixed group.

Wander through The Glen and find us - we wear high-vis waistcoats, or contact us:

friendsoftheglen@aol.com

SEPTEMBER 2016

THE GLEN IN AUTUMN

The Conservation Group have cut back most of the laurel along the path from the kissing gate so that visitors can now see as well as hear the stream down below.

The new pink astilbes planted down by the water’s edge and the hellebores planted alongside the path have performed very well this year and we look forward to an even better display next year when they have settled in.

The grey squirrels are feasting on the ripening berries and swelling nuts as the green leaves begin to change to their autumn colours. Soon there will be a blaze of reds and oranges throughout the Glen and after the leaves have fallen the branches will be stark and bare.

We will do our best to keep the paths and waterways clear but would love more help. We are a friendly group who meet in the Glen at 10am Tuesday mornings and work until noon or until energy runs out. Care to join us? No special skills needed.

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group

Visit us at www.e-voice.org.uk/friendsoftheglen

Pipe feeding former Higher Glen Cascade

Pipe feeding former Cascade, Higher Glen, January 2016.

Glen Stream below the Leat Weir

Glen Stream below the Leat Weir, Lower Glen, December 2015.

Lower Glen fungi

Fungi in The Dell, Major Lilley's Wood, Lower Glen, December 2015.

August 2016

THE GLEN IN AUGUST

The wet spring has encouraged the vegetation in the Glen to grow enormously this year. The Conservation Group are struggling to control it and have had to concentrate on keeping the paths and watercourses clear.

Efforts are now afoot to cut back the laurel so that visitors taking the path from the kissing gate will be able to look down at the stream below.

Most of the flowering plants and shrubs have finished now but there are some new pale pink astilbes planted down by the water's edge. The Glen always displays many different shades of green and is a cool and tranquil place in which to wander.

Many visitors enjoy walking in the Glen with their dogs and they are very welcome but our volunteer workers are continually finding dog excrement so please keep an eye on your pooch and clear up after him or her.

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group

Visit us at www.e-voice.org.uk/friendsoftheglen

November 2015

AUTUMN IN THE GLEN

Because the sun now offers less warmth and less light, the leaves are unable to continue to make food for the trees to grow so they are discarded and fall in a blaze of colour. The reds, yellows and golds are a welcome sight before the stark bareness of the branches takes over. The evergreens still provide some interest, the plump red holly berries, the jet black laurel berries and the pretty cones of the larch are particularly noticeable.

Under the ground, bulbs are already beginning to root and we look forward to seeing their tips emerge in early Spring. Our thanks go to Tesco, Honiton who have once again supported our efforts in the Glen by donating 600 spring bulbs. We have been busy!

We also thank Marwood Hill Gardens, near Barnstable, for their assistance in the purchase of many astilbe plants which will flower next summer.

Friends of the Glen will be working here throughout the winter. Would you like to help us look after the Glen?

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group.

THE GLEN IN OCTOBER

Autumn has arrived in The Glen. The leaves are changing colour and beginning to fall. The supply of nuts and berries is starting to dwindle as the grey squirrels and the birds take their fill.

We are pleased to have new arrivals in The Glen in the form of birds called Dippers. In fact we have spotted two of these birds and very much hope they are a breeding pair.

The Upper Glen is an ideal habitat for these distinctive birds which have plump white breasts, reddish brown heads and sooty black wings. They perch on rocks in the water and bob up and down with their tails cocked up behind them. Look out for them near the waterfalls.

The Friends of the Glen will be working here on Tuesday mornings through the Autumn and Winter and would be delighted to have more help. We’re easy to spot in our high-vis waistcoats with ‘volunteer’ across the back, come and talk to us, we’re friendly!

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group.

September 2015

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE GLEN NOW

Flowering has all but finished in the Glen now and the season of fruits and nuts is upon us.

The grey squirrels are harvesting the beech nuts and the birds are enjoying the numerous types of berries that are ripening now. The most obvious are on the Elder, and the Hawthorn and the Laurel. The blackberries are swelling and the sharp-eyed might spot raspberries if the birds haven’t already had their fill.

Our Family Activity Day in the Glen was rather a wash-out but thanks to the hardy few who turned up to do some orienter-ing, and to look at mini-beasts from the stream and the log piles. Our thanks go to the Mayor for braving the deluge to officially ‘open’ the new but rather wet picnic tables.

Once again we thank Tesco Honiton for providing refresh-ments for the Friends of The Glen and the brave souls who came to support us!

Would you like to help look after the Glen?

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group.

July 2015

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE GLEN IN JULY.

The spring flowers have finished and the overall colour in The Glen now is green, many, many different shades of green.

There are occasional glimpses of tall purple spires of the Foxgloves and scented white flowers of the Elder.

The crystal clear waters of the Glen Stream are flowing gently and the sound mingles well with the birdsong that can be heard throughout The Glen.

To encourage visitors to The Glen and enhance their enjoy-ment of it , two new picnic tables have been positioned in the open area just inside the Coronation Gates. This is a truly tranquil place to have a picnic and a nearby bin means you don’t have to carry your empties home!

The Friends of The Glen meet here on Tuesday mornings between 10am and noon. We are a small friendly group in need of some more volunteers, no specialist knowledge is required.

Would you like to help look after the Glen?

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group.

June 2015

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE GLEN TODAY

The Cow Parsley is in abundance this year, the frothy creamy/white flowers cover many areas of the Glen.

By the first bridge over the water the yellow Iris are standing tall and the Gunnera continues to thrust its large leaves up-wards. Further up the bank the Palm trees are offering an in-teresting display.

In the damp patches near the water’s edge there are clumps of Wild Garlic with broad green leaves and white flowers.

In the shady areas further away from the water the Lords and Ladies having finished flowering and started to show their spikes of tightly packed green berries soon to turn bright red.

The Rhododendrons continue their flamboyance with some very large blooms.

The Friends of the Glen thank Tesco for allowing us to hold a collection which raised £104 and will enable us to purchase more tools to help us with our work in the Glen. Thanks to all who donated.

Would you like to help look after the Glen?

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group.

May 2015

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE GLEN TODAY

The Daffodils have largely finished now and the Camellias are fading fast.

The most flamboyant shrubs now are the Rhododendrons whose large red /pink flowers are starting to open. The many Laurel bushes have burst into Spring showing their creamy white flowers and the few Berberis shrubs offer a red/orange glow.

The large sticky buds of the Horse Chestnut trees have opened to show the new leaves with the pyramids of flowers blooming above them.

In the shady areas the Lords and Ladies are beginning to push up their flower spikes and the Bluebells are beginning to flower beneath the deciduous trees which are unfurling their new leaves.

Would you like to help look after the Glen? We are a very friendly volunteer group always looking for new members. We work in the Glen on Tuesday mornings between 10am and noon. Come and meet us or use the contact details below.

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group.

April 2015

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE GLEN TODAY

In many areas the earth is carpeted by the ground hugging Lesser Celandine with its bright yellow flowers.

The Daffodils are in full glory now and in the shady areas the arrow-head shaped leaves of the Lords and Ladies are lush and green.

Go down the right hand path, over the bridge then up the concrete steps, look back down to the water’s edge to see the new shoots of the Gunnera growing up.

Continue up this path to see the pink and white Camellias still in bloom and on the left a small Beech tree, (in memory of Councillor Chris Tratt) is beginning to unfurl its new leaves whilst still hanging on to its old. A bit further up the path on the right hand side is a healthy looking specimen of a Dawn Redwood tree.

The birds are very active now preparing their nests, and there are regular sightings of the Grey Wagtails feeding along the water’s edge.

The Honiton Glen Conservation Group.