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gallery 1: 2006-2012
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>> 2007 Jun  9
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                         a   S T A M M E R  project              

2007 June 2 & 3, from Saturday to Monday

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A new member of the floristic catalogue, which had been present with its striking flowers for some weeks but couldn't been determined because of the absence of the necessary fruits (compare 12 May 2007), was this beautiful umbellate Orlaya grandiflora.  Quite rare in Aragon where its territory is decreasing although it also seems to be an annual species whose seed germinates easily under the right conditions. It is dominantly present on the terrain and it has been flowering for some weeks without showing signs of withdrawal. Recommended for any (wild) garden.

Another species that finally could be determined was Prunella laciniata (Cut-leaf Self-heal) showing now it's white beehives. Like the anterior Pyramidal Orchid this Self-heal is a characteristic  species of Festuco-Brometea grasslands on dry limestone soils.

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Following strictly the ideas of Louis Le Roy (see introduction) these beautiful grasslands would develop over the years into a climax woodland. If this woodland is really ecologically richer or desirable is a polemic discussion but fact is that we prefer a more open area to live in and walk through so we won't let the grassland completely turn into a wood. This means the occasional removal of upshoot of trees and shrubs much like the maintenance of the 'artificial' alpine grasslands high up in the mountains (which by the way are incredibly rich in species). One way of  compensating for the lack of woody species (dead or alive) is leaving dead tree trunks here and there on the terrain. Choosing expressive forms may also contribute to the aesthetics of the place.

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Work on the pond and the surrounding area continues. The stone bed in the interior is more or less finished. I added two rain water inlets on both extremes. The liner has been cut but will be cut again so that it sticks only some centimetres above ground level. In the surrounding terrace I will introduce some shallow  canals on each sloping side to guide the rainwater into the pond.

This weekend we went for refreshment to a neighbouring valley  with a small stream at 15 km from the terrain. I was surprised to find that the vast majority of species in an area within 3 meters of the river are also present on our terrain. So either the absence of a river or the presence of a pond won't probably make a big difference for the vegetation on the terrain and much bigger must be the effect on the fauna.

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Little by little the colours of the vegetation are getting mixed by yellow and brown. But after wave after wave of different dominant flowers there are still some important flowers that are not flowering yet and preparing what must be a final summer festval: Daucus carota, Verbascum sinuatum, Senecio jacobaea , Chondrilla juncea , Althaea cannabina ..

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
map
>> 2007 Jun  9
<< 2007 May 26