The image of two fondling love birds on a Valentine’s card may be considered very cheesy by some. But there is a strong association between birds and Valentines day in folk traditions.

Mistletoe is a classic plant of Christmas decoration. It was considered rather magical because of the way it grows as if floating in trees. In reality mistletoe is hemiparasitic meaning it takes nutrients from trees in order to grow. The seeds are spread via birds who eat the berries and wipe the sticky seeds from their beaks onto the branches where they take root and grow. Mistle Thrushes get their name from the plant but Blackcaps are the most voracious consumers of mistletoe according to the British Trust for Ornithology.

Our modern relationship with hedgerows is largely positive with the popularity of foraging growing as people strive to reconnect with nature and the past. However I was surprised to find that hedgerows were often feared in the past as they symbolised boundaries between the safe, ordered fields and the wild world beyond.

“In the pond that lay by the Alder trees lived a long, strange creature, greenish brown in colour, with a sharp snout and large eyes. It was a big Eel, wise and much travelled”