Happy Father’s Day, You’re Having a Giraffe!, Pollen Pain & Longest Day

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
17^th June 2023

Happy Father’s Day

Tomorrow (18^th) is Father’s Day and 27 years since Bob (my dad) died – the day before Father’s Day in 1996.  I still have the Father’s Day card I bought for that year – and so has my brother.  We are both lucky that we worked with dad for a number of years and got to know him as so much more than a dad.  I never tire of still driving past the many different landscaping projects we worked on and gardens we created, and watching the trees we planted together reaching maturity.  So many local people will have different memories of him too. From ‘being on the Post’ to organising and building the obstacle course for the school sports day and playing a big part in Llangattock Fete and carnival, with the dressed tractors and trailers as ‘floats’.  How on earth he fitted it all in I’ll never know, but he did and in doing so created great memories for so many.

In my reflective mood this week, I am reminded about how trees, and other plants, can make such good ‘tributes’ to someone or something special.  A couple of years ago, quite by chance, my brother and I were asked to prune a couple of apple trees in the garden where my dad was brought up. It turned out that they were the trees that my grandfather planted for my dad and uncle.  Watching my brother climb the trees that had been handled by my dad and grandfather (who died when my dad was just 12) was a very special moment.

We planted a walnut tree in memory of Bob – just a lithe, enthusiastic sapling when planted but now a strapping majestic tree providing tasty walnuts each year.

Similarly I have a beautiful dog rose wending its way through a hedge at the cottage, planted in memory of Yogi’s predecessor, Tippy.  Along with the shrub rose ‘Little White Pet’ I also planted, (she was a Westie) it immediately evokes beautiful memories of her when it blooms each year.

As well as planting a ‘favourite’ tree, rose or shrub for that ‘special commemoration’, a drift of wildflowers could be effective and appropriate, and there are also lots of ‘named’ plants – roses in particular – that may be suitable.  For Father’s Day, choose from roses called My Dad, Special Dad, Father’s Love, Dear Dad, My Lovely Dad, and of course Father’s Day.  There are also other possible ‘contenders’ like, Precious Memories, Thinking of You, and Special Friend.  I am confident there is a rose suitable for just about every occasion, its just finding it!

And finally I think a really lovely gesture is that, in some countries, many people wear a rose on Father’s Day, with red roses signifying a father that is still living while white roses represent a father who has passed.

You’re Having a Giraffe!

I feel slightly obligated to bring people’s attention to World Giraffe Day as I have had a life-sized giraffe in my garden for over 10 years, much to the amusement of locals and ‘tourists’ alike.  Made of light steel discs, he was originally used in the Befriending Bees Show Garden I created as the ‘barefoot beekeeper’ for a RHS Show in Cardiff in 2012.  Despite trying to find him home during that weekend, he ended up coming home with me – in the back of a horsebox, creating quite a few memories of his own, I suspect.

World Giraffe Day was originally established by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation to celebrate the tallest animal in the world on the longest day of the year, the 21^st June.

I also had a huge acacia tree in the Show Garden as bees love them, but also because there is a rather surprising link to the giraffe.  Acacias are thorny trees with foliage that is enjoyed by giraffes, so much so that they can eat up to 29 kilograms of acacia leaves and twigs daily. However the acacia trees have developed a few defensive mechanisms to ensure their survival from the hungry giraffes – and other animals that like to chew on their leaves and twigs.

First of all, some species of acacia have large sharp thorns of up to 10 cm long, but giraffes have evolved to deal with these sharp thorns so they are not a deterrent.  The really clever trick the acacia trees use is to release tannins, which make the leaves taste ‘sour’ to giraffes, so they won’t eat them. But that’s not all, these tannins are so strong that other trees in the vicinity react to the initial tree’s tannin release and they too start to release their own tannin, which makes them unpalatable to giraffes.  It is such a clever system – unless you are the giraffe, of course.

Pollen Pain

Hayfever and pollen allergies have been at an all time high this year, as the dry weather has been perfect for elevating pollen levels and it’s dispersal.  Allergens expert Max Wiseberg, from HayMax, has predicted that this week could well be the worst week so far in 2023 for hay fever, adding, “Hay fever is estimated to affect almost half the UK population, with 95% of sufferers affected by grass pollen.”

Up until recently it has been mostly tree pollen that has been the culprit, but now grass pollen is also at its peak, adding to the misery for many sufferers.  Local honey is reputed to help pollen allergies as it contains small amounts of local pollen. Taking a teaspoon each day is thought to desensitise the ‘consumer’ over a period of time, making them less sensitive to airborne pollen and allergens. But please be mindful and grateful for that honey, as it takes 12 bees their entire lifetime to make just one teaspoon of honey.

In Japan the rise of hayfever sufferers has led to drastic measures, as the symptoms are believed to make the ‘sufferers less productive in the working environment.  As a result, large areas of cedar forests are to be cut down and replaced with trees that produce less pollen.

Longest Day

Wednesday 21^st marks the much-talked-about summer solstice, or the longest day.  The sun will rise at around 4:44am and set around 9:20pm meaning that daylight lasts for almost 17 hours. Just for comparison, we will have around 8 hours, 50 minutes more daylight on Wednesday than on the winter solstice on 22^nd December (or the shortest day).

Despite being the longest day of the year, the summer solstice doesn’t have the earliest sunrise of the year. Generally, they occur in the run up to the summer solstice – as I can verify, being woken up each morning by my beloved dawn chorus.