Carpets of purple viper's bugloss and corn marigold, both rare arable plants, light up the landscape on a farm near Land's End, west Cornwall. The display is the result of farmer Adrian Thomas's participation in a Natural England Higher Level Environment Stewardship Scheme, in which areas of farmland were left fallow and springsown cereal crops managed with low nitrogen inputs and without artificial herbicides and pesticides.
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The result is a magnificent and environmentally beneficial display-purple viper's bugloss is an excellent source of nectar and pollen that's only found in a few places in the UK.
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A well-connected rural playground with 23 acres on the edge of the South Downs National ParkOld House Farm is an impressive family home with a wealth of amenities that would inspire any rural passion.
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The UK gets its first ‘European stork village’ — and it's in West SussexAlthough the mortality rate among white storks can be up to 90%, the future looks rosy for breeding pairs in southern England.
