Dealing with Bracken (2)

As you walk along the path reach out and pull up the bracken stems. They slide out easily with no strength needed. It takes four seconds to learn the technique. Drop the bracken onto the surface of the path and remember to come back next July and remove any in exactly the same area.

Pulled bracken left on the path.

The beauty of this is that it gets ordinary walkers involved in the process identifying with their own adopted section of path. In the above case an area of bilberry, cowberry and heather has been exposed. This is maintenance for recreational value - i.e. it starts at the path, makes it easier to walk and pick bilberries and harmoniously and progressively adds to the scenic value. Once the process gets established year on year you can move further back from the path to deal with a bigger area.

DON'T FORGET THAT BRACKEN FOR ALL ITS ANNOYING HABITS IS RESTRICTED TO A SMALL PART OF THE YEAR, ABOUT THREE MONTHS. IT HATES COLD AND QUICKLY SUCCUMBS IN THE AUTUMN.