Description
Image Size: 28.0 x 24.0 cms (11.0 x 9.4”)
Acrylic on paper, with handwritten notes accompanying illustrations.
Original artwork from page 95 of ‘Orchards Through the Eyes Of An Artist’ (Langford Press) ISBN 1904078087
This painting features Bramble (Rubus fruticosus), Speckled Wood butterfly (Parage aegeria) and Blackthorn or Sloe (Prunus spinosa). Ancient hedgerows, perhaps initially planted as field boundaries, protect orchard trees from wind and frost, and often comprise important native species such as alder, hazel, spindle and yew. Such hedges provide nest sites for birds like yellowhammers, long-tailed tits, and summer visitors like the whitethroat. In spring, dog rose, bramble and blackthorn blossom attracts feeding butterflies, moths, hoverflies and bees whilst, later in the year, badgers, foxes, mice and voles gorge on the autumn bonanza of blackberries, haws, elderberries and sloes, in anticipation of leaner times ahead.
