Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail. 22nd September 2018 
Can ‘Yew’ Help Please?
We are fortunate to have some of the most magnificent recorded yew trees in Wales. I am lucky enough to have visited most of them and also to have had the pleasure of Janis Fry’s company and knowledge at some of the special sites
Janis, who has written the wonderful ‘Ancient Yew Tour around Brecon and Usk’, told me, ‘Although there are still undiscovered yews, we now believe that in Wales, there are at least 21 yews aged at 2,000 years plus, 10 of 3,000 years plus, 1 at 4,000 years plus and 3 at 5,000 years plus. That is a total of 35 yews aged between 2,000 and 5,000 years old in Wales alone – and there are a great selection locally, around Crickhowell, Abergavenny and Brecon.
There is the hollow one at Llanbedr Church, where there is often a chair inside, the Dancing Ladies near Raglan, (yes, they really do resemble ballerinas), the incredible yew circle at Pencelli and of course what is thought to be the oldest yew in the UK, at Defynnog.
For thousands of years, the yew was considered sacred in Wales and there were old laws that protected them which date back to Pope Gregory in around 600 AD, the laws of Hywel Dda, in the 10th century and the Synod of Exeter in 1287. At one time, Saint’s yews known as Taxus Sanctus, were considered to have enormous importance and no one dared touch them. These laws were reviewed in the time of Edward 1st in the year 1307, who gave them the Royal Seal of Approval and later in the Houses of Parliament in 1781. The law is still active and has never been revoked but there also has never been a test case since those times and so the old laws need to be restated and brought up to date.
With the demise of the Church and the closure of many redundant churches, these buildings and some lands, with or surrounded by yews, are being sold off. The need to protect these ancient yew trees is becoming more urgent with the change in ownership and stewarding. On the whole, the yews have been afforded a good degree of protection until now and although unimaginable, it is entirely possible that these ancient living monuments could disappear unchallenged.
So please take a minute to sign the petition to gain proper protection for our ancient yews. We are close to reaching the target but need your help. Please don’t leave it to others, or until it is too late.
www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-legal-protection-for-ancient-yew-trees
Thank ‘yew’.
Perfect Scents
After writing about spider’s last week (and having great feedback), I was inspired to ‘autumn clean’ my cottage. It was the bit about female spiders coming indoors to lay their eggs that did it for me – especially when I read that they lay up to 200 eggs at a time and are able to do that nine times.
And after the big autumn clean I treated myself to a rather special scented diffuser. OKA do the most amazing ‘nature inspired’ scents, which is what caught me in their web!
Smell is the oldest sense in the animal kingdom and whereas I always pay a lot of attention to incorporating scented plants into a garden, it is easy to miss out on their benefits in the house.
Freshly mown grass, summer lavender, and jasmine are amongst people’s favourite smells, often taking them back to nice childhood memories, so it makes sense to utilize them to make us feel good.
OKA’s Walled Garden fragrant diffuser oil is a delicate and uplifting scent with leafy top notes of blackcurrant and grapefruit, followed by a floral heart of jasmine and peach, and base notes reminiscent of the sweet scent of nectar in a sun-filled garden.
Citrus Garden is a refreshing fragrance, bursting with sunlight and the sparkling tang of limes, grapefruit, bergamot and bitter orange, then a herbal heart of fresh lavender, basil, mint and rosemary, leading to a mysterious deep, mossy, earthy bas
Fragrant Wood is an uplifting mix of lime, bergamot and grapefruit, with a delicate floral heart of lavender, rose and jasmine, followed by deep woody, mossy and exotic musky notes.
And Winter Forest will take you to a snowy mountain side with the seductive scent of pine needles, then relax you with the spicy glow of cinnamon, vanilla and cloves warmed by the fire. Perfect for those autumnal evenings.
It’s the perfect time of year to be bringing a little bit of the garden indoors, just not if it’s got eight legs!
They also do some other rather lovely housey things – just in time for a Christmas list. More details at www.oka.com/accessories/scent-for-living/fragrance-diffusers/
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