TQ8132 : Coppiced trees and bluebells
taken 14 years ago, near to Benenden, Kent, England
Coppicing is a management technique of cutting trees and shrubs to ground level allowing vigorous regrowth and a sustainable supply of timber for future generations.
Trees and shrubs that are cut down in this way can produce shoots that grow over 30cm in a week.
The benefits of coppicing are varied, including promoting ground vegetation (by letting light in), raw materials for thatching, fencing, kindling and charcoal making. Also coppiced trees live longer than non coppiced trees. All trees can be coppiced, but hazel, ash, lime and beech are common.
These woodlands are located south of Benenden. The High Weald Landscape Trail runs through the woods. The woods are managed by coppicing and were used in Mediaeval times as charcoal for the local Iron industry. In Strawberry Wood a Mediaeval culvert, used in the Iron industry, has been restored. Link
Hyacinthoides non-scripta is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell.
H. non-scripta is particularly associated with ancient woodland where it may dominate the understorey to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers in "bluebell woods", but also occurs in more open habitats in western regions. It is protected under UK law, and in some other parts of its range.