Covered in Red and Yellow Leaves

In her entry of 14th October 1906, Edith talks about going for a walk in Catherine de Barnes ...

Hips made a great display all along the route, especially on a wild piece of common land we crossed, covered with Gorse and briars. I noticed great numbers of Finches here, feeding on the berries. Some of the Gorse bushes were in flower, these with the bushes of scarlet Rose-berries, and trailing Blackberry briars, covered with red and yellow leaves, made fine patches of colour in the bright sunshine.

Exactly 109 years later, I spent an early hour exploring the rather more manicured surroundings of the NEC.

14 October 2015, Red Oak.

Red Oak and flags at the NEC.

The most spectacular colour comes from the foreign tree varieties planted amongst the NEC gardens.  The leaves of a Red Oak gave me a hint of the spectacular "Fall" that Americans enjoy.

Flags and maple leaves fluttering in the feeble breeze.

Although the flags were barely stirring in the early morning breeze, leaves from the maples beyond were already being blown away.

Native lakeside trees showing golden tones.

Looking back towards the lake, most of the native trees were still green, highlighted with subtle yellows and golds. Nearby a Great-Crested Grebe was dipping below the water and bobbing up to feed her well-grown youngster.

Resort World, Pendigo lake.

I spent a little more time at the lakeside and enjoyed seeing the ripples on the blue waters before going into work.

Went to the daffodil field again

In her entry for the 20th of March, Edith says:

Went to the Daffodil field again; The buds are just breaking into yellow. Found two Thrush's nests both in holly bushes, one nest was empty, the bird was sitting on the other, she looked at me with such brave, bright eyes, I could not disturb her, much as I would liked a peep at her speckled blue eggs.

Rabbits in the NEC's daffodils.

When I was in Birmingham, from the 8th to the 10th of March, there were certainly plenty of daffodils in full bloom. While walking through the NEC grounds one night, a colleague spotted some rabbits amongst the bright yellow blooms.

I find myself wondering what sort of daffodil field she meant. Maybe it belonged to a commercial grower. The first show for the Midland Daffodil Society (now the Daffodil Society) was held in the Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, Birmingham 1899. The programme, available from the Northern Group's website tells us that a number of commercial growers from the area were exhibiting:

• Simpson and Son, Birmingham
• Hewitt and Co, Solihull
• John Pope, Birmingham
• Robert Sydenham, Birmingham

In her diary, Edith mentions visits to Packwood in February and July. Ragged Robin's splendid blog describes both Edith's and her own visits. Ragged Robin's post shows Packwood's lovely, naturalised daffodils. However, if Edith Packwood, I'm sure she would have mentioned it.  

Wild daffodils and other spring flowers from my Sussex garden.

I think that it's most likely that Edith's daffodil field contained the wild species. She certainly painted some on a nearby page. The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust runs the Harvest Hill Nature Reserve, which "is one of the last remaining wild daffodil meadows in the area." That tantalising "remaining" suggests there would have been more in Edith's time. 

Daffodils under an illuminated tree, Birmingham NEC.

I'm sure Edith never saw daffodils and trees lit up like this! The lights run through a cycle of red, blue, green and magenta. I find them strangely compelling to watch although I suspect any nesting birds will go elsewhere.

Resort World - there are bird boxes in the dark area to the right.

However there are bird boxes nearby, close to the Resort World hotel and, last year, I saw young Great Crested Grebes so even though I didn't see any nesting birds, they are sure to be around somewhere.

I had to carry my cycle ...

Edith's entry for 10th March 1906 describes seeing birds with nesting materials and a variety of wildflowers. She was clearly very determined to find particular flowers and says:

I had to carry my cycle nearly a quarter of a mile down a steep, muddy fordrough set thick with thorns, with high banks on each side. On these sheltered banks I found numbers of small celandine blossom ...

If you were wondering, the Topographical and Land-Use Terms page of John Morris Jones' site, tells us that fordrough means farm track. I am in awe of this young woman who, encumbered by long skirts and carrying a heavy Edwardian bicycle down a rough muddy track, explored and found the flowers she was looking for. My little walks have been far easier. This week I stayed at the Crowne Plaza hotel from Tuesday the 8th to Thursday the 10th of March, which is at the edge of the Pendigo lake in the NEC complex.

Gorse and Traveller's Joy.

I didn't have to go far to find my first wildflowers. There is a Gorse bush, smothered in its own yellow flowers and the fluffy seedheads of Traveller's Joy (clematis) just outside the hotel.  The Traveller's Joy is particularly apt as it is a friendly and well-placed hotel. I found Colt's Foot flowers while walking round the South East edge of Pendigo lake. This was first thing in the morning on Wednesday the 9th of March, 110 years and 5 days after Edith recorded finding some while on "a long walk".

Coots near the Crowne Plaza.

Coming back to the hotel, I found a pair of cheeky Coots grazing the newly laid turf just outside, having taken over lawn mowing duties from the rabbits that were there the previous night.

Sky Walk - close to the site of the former Pendigo buildings.

In Edith's time, the area was already associated with the name Pendigo. However it was a cluster of buildings, presumably a farm, rather than the lake that is there today. The buildings were roughly where NEC hall 5 is now, just south of the Sky Walk. Hall 5 is one of the halls being used for Crufts this year.

While I was staying at the Crowne Plaza, the NEC was preparing for Crufts.

My Thursday morning walk to the office was enlivened by trails of dogs, from stumpy bulldogs to tiny Chihuahuas converging on the NEC. In 1906, when Edith wrote her diary, Crufts had been running for 15 years under Charles Cruft and was held in Islington. The best champion (the forerunner of Best in Show) was a Scotch Collie called Wishaw Leader. Both Crufts and Pendigo have come a long way since then.