Whitethorn, or hawthorn, hedges and their red berries, or haws, are equally ubiquitous in September. Traditionally, they were cured and acquired their glossy black colour by sticking them up the chimney. The wood was prized in the past for making walking sticks that could also be used as clubs, sometimes called shillelaghs. (Note to self – must try one!) Blackthorn hedges are common around here as they make an impenetrable, thorny cattle-proof fence. They are actually a type of small plum and are considered edible after the frost. Sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn, often used for making sloe gin. Sloes too, with their glossy blueblack skins are there for the picking.
![define shillelagh define shillelagh](http://www.extac.com.au/assets/full/CS91PBSH.jpg)
Now the berries are ripening and it’s impossible to walk without keeping an eye out for particularly juicy blackberries.Īlthough, because we’ve had a cold and wet summer, lots of the brambles are only flowering now. Although technically both are introduced species, together these two flowers define the south west of Ireland – it’s what we see in our mind’s eye when we think of West Cork. Most striking, of course, is that combination of drooping fuchsia and the gaily waving montbretia (or crocosmia) underneath. Inspired by my Ellen Hutchins experience, I set out to identify some of the most conspicuous of them, aided by my Zoë Devlin book and my friend Amanda. We’ve been walking the little roads around us in West Cork again, and observing the new cycle of hedgerow flowers since I last reported on them in June.