My A-Z posts this year
are based on my garden – flowers, animals, the birds and the bees, butterflies -
with a bit of poetry thrown in. For some letters I am expecting to cheat
somewhat – wishing they were here.
E - Elderberry, Earthworm,
Earwig
This post has no birds – perhaps this is strange because
they do like the elderberries.
 |
| Elderberries |
In Denmark
there is a tradition of a female elf in the elder tree. She leaves it at
midnight; strolls around the fields, but returns to it before morning.
 |
| Elder Flowers |
The winsome, winsome
elder tree,
Beneath whose shade I sit reclin'd;--
It holds a witch within its bark,
A lovely witch who haunts the dark,
And fills with love my mind.
Beneath whose shade I sit reclin'd;--
It holds a witch within its bark,
A lovely witch who haunts the dark,
And fills with love my mind.
What I did not know about the
elder was its association with death, even Wordsworth recognised this.
The Elder-tree that
grew
Beside the well-known
Charnel house had then
A dismal look
An unsung hero of any garden is one that works below the
ground.
When
the earth is turned in spring
The
worms are fat as anything.
 |
| Earthworm |
And
birds come flying all around
To
eat the worms right off the ground.
They say that the early bird gets the worm but worms take a
different view; for them the early worm gets the bird!
Earwigs are readily recognized insect pests in gardens.
Although they can devastate seedling vegetables or annual flowers and often
seriously damage maturing soft fruit, they also have a beneficial role having
been shown to be important predators of aphids.
 |
| Female earwig in its nest with eggs |
This nest was found underneath a house brick in a Chester garden.
A silver trail across
the monitor;
fresh mouse-droppings beneath the swivel-chair;
the view obscured by rogue japonica.
Released into the wild, where earwigs dare
fresh mouse-droppings beneath the swivel-chair;
the view obscured by rogue japonica.
Released into the wild, where earwigs dare
Poems:
- The Elder-Witch – George Borrow
- Elder-tree – Wordsworth (Growth of a Poet’s Mind – Book VIII)
- The Worm – Ralph Bergengren
- Where Earwigs Dare – Matt Harvey
Photo attributions:
- Earthworm – 2011; by Rob Hille – Public domain
- Earwig - Nabokov at en.wikipedia – CC BY-SA 3.0
