Bring Back the Buzz

Some years ago, I used to often cycle along a small lane where half a dozen mature wild cherry trees grew. Each year they produced a really good crop of small cherries – deliciously sweet-and-sharp to taste – and many cyclists stopped to pick a few. But you had to be there at the right time. The fruit did not last long as the birds enjoyed eating them too. The same cannot be said for the small grove of cherry trees I found 2 months growing at the edge of a conifer plantation out in the countryside, well away from people. The cherry tree branches were laden with fruit – also deliciously sweet-and-sharp to taste –  yet the fruit were untouched. This was good for me of course, but given the location next to woodland and surrounded by fields and hedgerows, I would have expected the birds to have devoured them long before I showed up. The cherries were finished when I returned to the woods recently - so I had to make do with tangy blackberries instead.

The cherries were gone but there were plenty of blackberries despite the wizened state of the leaves due to the drought

I had returned to the woods to forage for one of my favourite fungi but as with my previous searches, there were none. The on-going drought has left the ground too dry. As I wandered through the trees and along the fire-breaks, enjoying the scent of pine, I became aware of the silence – normally something to be appreciated in our busy lives. But the fact is, the woods should not have been silent! There were no birds singing and there were no bees buzzing amongst the Willow-herb, the bramble flowers and the wildflowers growing along the track verges. All I saw was the occasional wasp enjoying a ripe blackberry. Rachel Carson’s book, ‘Silent Spring’ immediately came to my mind.

Fantastic to see - the now rare (due to habitat loss and farming practices) wildflower ‘Ragged Robin’, hanging on in a small damp area near the wild cherry tree grove. It attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies.

Over the last 50 years, the healthy biodiversity levels that I remember as a boy have collapsed. Unsustainable agricultural practices are apparently the primary cause. Over-use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, in levels that the environment cannot naturally absorb and of course, habitat loss. Farmers need to feed the nation, but there are options as to how this is done. There needs to be a balance between meeting our nutritional needs while simultaneously supporting the needs of the natural world. We will not thrive if nature is not thriving. A root-and-branch reform of farming practices is needed, including reviewing how farm produce actually reaches local populations. Does it always have to be through the intermediary of supermarkets? Access to affordable local fruit and veg markets should be the norm – in fact, it should be the peoples’ first choice! In addition, we need to be encouraged seasonal eating – something that could be taught in schools.

Vast fields now dominate our landscape – farming monoculture that by its nature, excludes sustainable healthy biodiversity levels and landscape resilience.

In 2022 the WWF-UK stated that humans have wiped out almost 70% of animals in the last 50 years alone! I write this as someone who actually remembers, as a boy, living in the Scottish countryside when it was full of life. Coincidentally, that was 50 years ago too. So I know how a healthy environment looks and sounds. This year – 2025 – we have been hit by a drought driven by climate change which has exposed the lack of resilience in our farming practices. The drought has affected much of the UK, even the  north Aberdeenshire coast where SeeHow is based. It has fallen like a blanket across land that has suffered 50 years of mismanagement and biodiversity loss – and our forests have fallen silent.

Gardens offer a little hope for wildlife. Taken 3 weeks ago, the photo shows a Red Admiral butterfly on a what I think may be a Silphium, struggling to cope with the drought

But, we gardeners are an optimistic bunch. The simple act of planting a flower or some veg shows a belief in the future – the glass half full! Let’s try to fill our gardens with the sounds of birds and bees and the sight of butterflies and insects too. There are approximately 23 million gardens in the UK – which is a positive thought. Bring back the buzz!

Happy gardening!

The above Text and all Photographs are copyright of Wincenty (Wicek) Sosna. Please contact SeeHow (07939 226417) for permission to reproduce in any way, in part or as the complete text.

Wicek, now semi-retired, is an award-winning architect He is also a writer, horticulturalist and keen gardener and lives in Macduff on the dramatic north Aberdeenshire coast. He invented the unique interactive SeeHow gardening book concept, to actually show gardeners how plants and veg grow throughout the calendar-year. Because SeeHow books work visually, anyone can use them - from children to garden design professionals. Pictures really are worth 1,000 words!

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