haws from common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) september 2019
Common hawthorn can support more than 300 insects. It is the food plant for caterpillars of many moths, including the hawthorn, orchard ermine, pear leaf blister, rhomboid tortrix, light emerald, lackey, vapourer, fruitlet mining tortrix, small eggar and lappet moths. Its flowers are eaten by dormice and provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinating insects. The haws are rich in antioxidants and are eaten by many migrating birds such as redwings, fieldfares and thrushes, as well as small mammals. Source: Woodland Trust UK
If you want to join in with celebrating the colours of autumn then take part in the Festival of Leaves 2019 hosted by Dawn Miller.
Cornwall in Colours 
Nice!!! 🙂 🙂
Lovely bright berries, on a dull day here.
So much rain this past week, my mood has plummeted. Yesterday’s sunny start didn’t last long, and I was awake until late, listening to the rain lashing the house. I never imagined I could be so affected by the weather, until I moved to where I really notice it. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete. x
Very noticeable here too Pete and I get anxious about leaks in this house. The rain is bad enough, but the wind makes it much worse!
And hawthorn berries are good for us too – in herbal decoctions said to be good for heart health. And this year’s profusion is certainly a heartening sight.Love your edit, Jude.
There do seem to many more than usual this year, the lanes here are covered in red splashes. I have never tried eating one, have you? I do remember rosehip syrup being given to me as a child at this time of year.
They’ve got a hardish middle and taste rather bitter if I remember rightly. Not at all promising. Tho quite good when dried and used in a herbal tea.
I was reading that dried you can add to breakfast muesli. And also make jelly from it. Not to be taken by people on hypertension medication though, without consulting the Dr.
That’s probably because herbalists use them to normalise blood pressure and reduce palpitations.
I’d best not make tea from them for the OH then!
I love your edit Jude. I didn’t know any of that. Like so many introduced plants, hawthorn can be a problem here as it crowds out natives.
I wonder if it has its uses there too?
Definitely! Medicinal and culinary uses, and I imagine our native birds and insects will feed on it.
Not all bad then. Just needs to be kept an eye on.
😀
So gorgeous. I love your edit!
Thanks Dawn 🙂
Such a beautiful image, Jude. I love the painterly effect. 🙂
Thanks Sylvia. This year is a good one for the haws.
It sounds like a super-plant to me … and it’s pretty. We have a winner!!
I don’t think I will be using it, but I am sure the birds will 😀
Really like what you did with that photo:)
Thank you, I think it was poster edges in Photoshop Elements.
Creatively done, Jude. 🙂
Sometimes when the image is not quite as sharp as you’d like a bit of artistic flair saves it from being deleted 😉
A great solution, Jude.