In praise of the bramble ....

Not sure of the pearly gates access protocol but think it'll be a short interview with St Peter, clipboard in hand, asking questions.

And in answer to 'What do you wish you'd spent more time doing?' my answer will NOT include digging out brambles. Today it's top of that list sir.

The peppered moth lays its' eggs on bramble

They're beastly. They're vigorous and can turn a neglected garden corner into a dense bramble trap in little time at all. Their thorns have an ability to viscously whip and tear the skin of any unsuspecting face. They ruin workboots and practise a malign magic on laces. And, due to their trick of being able to anchor two points with a hidden trip-wire sometimes metres apart with a continuous bramble they're treacherous. There he goes again! Got him! Ooomph.

Having said all of that, I'm very pro-bramble.

In the 'Nature Reserve' part of the garden we've given large parts of it over to brambles (or wild blackberries). Although I hate their recalcitrance, they really are wonderful plants for wildlife and I'm delighted we have them. There are hundreds of different kinds of brambles (Rubus fruticosus agg.) and it takes an expert eye to tell them apart. Their white or pink flowers are loved by insects and their glossy black berries are equally loved by birds and mammals. We've planted native trees and shrubs into the bramble thickets and they rise from their natural nursery protected above the thorns: rowan, hawthorn, silver birch, holly, field maple.

White/buff tailed bumblebee enjoying July brambles 

In Tudor times the brambles' wild raspberry cousin was more highly valued than the wild blackberry. This has now reversed and we eagerly await the ripening of their fruits for our first crumble.

In our garden, woodcocks are sometimes flushed from beneath their cover. Winter blackbirds are thick in numbers amongst their prickly tangle and flocks of tits and goldcrests frequently move through them as their leaves and stems harbour many invertebrates. We await our summer visitor warblers - blackcaps and chiffchaffs use the brambles for their tiny, well-concealed nests. Brambles  provide excellent cover for all manner of wildlife. The caterpillars of over thirty five species of butterfly of moth feed on them. Common and soprano pippistrelle bats include the brambles in their 'beat' hunting for fluttering moths.

Brambles are said to have many medicinal uses. Their use to cure haemorrhoids came as a surprise; presumably on the 'no gain without pain' shelf. 

We've carved paths through our bramble patches and manage the burgeoning summer growth with loppers. The path edges and new growth may provide refuges for our harvest mice, along with the wood mice and voles that we've spotted. We've planted native bluebells and cowslip seedlings are colonising the grassy paths. Red campion was introduced a few years back and is establishing itself.

The brambles give a wonderful sense of enclosure and place to hear bird song. They play a tremendously-important part in our eco-systems and are a keystone species for wildlife - so, treasure 'em.