Reg’s Meadow - April 2006
A Slow Start to Spring - Reg's Meadow in March
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April meadow |
There is not a great deal to report from Reg’s Meadow this month. Spring is progressing very slowly during March, as the cold weather is holding everything back.
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Cowslip |
The ground is already covered with tiny green cowslip leaves, but most of these have their flower buds still tightly curled in the centre of the plants, or not yet showing. In more sheltered spots, however, some flower stems are growing taller and it will not be long before their flowers open as the weather gets warmer. By the same date in March last year many of the cowslip flowers were already fully open.
In the hedgerows, buds that were so tiny as to be almost invisible a month ago are now filling out. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between
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Hawthorn buds |
Nearly open |
Hawthorn and Blackthorn plants when they have no leaves, but the buds of these two species are now quite distinctive and recognisable. Hawthorn buds are tiny and red, growing individually on short, stalked twigs. Some of the buds on the Meadow hawthorn are still firmly closed, but others are beginning to open.
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Blackthorn |
Blackthorn buds are pinkish-brown, and grow close to the twigs in small clusters. These buds will open in the next few weeks into clusters of small, white flowers, covering the plants long before the appearance of their leaves. One of the first sure signs of spring is the sight of hedgerows covered with the frothy blossom of blackthorn and it is also a very good way of finding out where the blackthorn bushes are located if you want to pick sloes, the fruit of the blackthorn, later in the year!
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Hazel catkins |
Female |
Many of the female Hazel catkins are now fully open, displaying their tiny red plumes. They are very difficult to see and you will need to get very close to the Hazel to find them, as they are very small indeed, only measuring around 2mm across when fully open and 5 or 6mm from the base of the bud to the tip of the flower.
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Elder |
The first leaves to open in the hedgerow are always a welcome sight, and in our meadow the Elder leaves have made it out first this year, adding a touch of greenery to a scene that is otherwise still very wintry. The leaves are lime green on the front and a delicate shade of pink on the back.
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Small mammal tunnel |
I opened each of the vole boxes on my way round the meadow, hoping to be rewarded with the sight of at least one animal in residence, but was disappointed. There are, however, signs of these small creatures all around the meadow and in the boxes. In the long, tussocky grass in the copses the small mammals make holes and tunnels for shelter. Inside the vole boxes dried grass has been pulled together to make a cosy nest and chewed nutshells remain as evidence of a meal.
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Vole box nest |
Food remains |
We are still looking out for a real flush of spring in the meadow. Hopefully by this time next month it will be in full swing!
Featured Flower – Daisy (Bellis perennis)
As
the Daisy produced the only flower we found in the meadow throughout
the winter, it seems only fair that this little plant should have
its moment of glory! It is such a common inhabitant of gardens and
wild grassland that it is often overlooked as a wild flower.
A small downy perennial, the daisy is widespread all over Britain and Europe. The leaves grow in a low basal rosette, easily passed over by lawn mowers, so that it continues to recover from mowing and flourishes in gardens. It has a central yellow disc and numerous white petals, or ray florets, which are sometimes tinged with pink at the edges. It flowers from February to December, but is sometimes found in flower all through the winter if the weather remains mild.
Alternative names include Bruisewort, Bairnwort (Scotland) and Llygad y Dydd, meaning “eye of the day” (Wales). The name Bellis is thought to come from the Latin bellus meaning “beautiful”or “pretty”, but there is also a suggestion that it may come from the name of a dryad called Belidis. The common name comes from the old English name “day’s eye”, as the flowers tend to close in dull or wet weather.
“Bairnwort” in Scotland refers to the various games that children play with the flowers, making them into daisy chains or other decorations.
Traditionally the leaves and white petals were sometimes used as pot herbs, in salads or soups, and there were also a number of medicinal uses. Leaves and flowers were made into an ointment for the treatment of wounds, gout and bruising, while in homeopathy the plant has been used to treat sprains, boils and eczema. A distillation made from the leaves was taken internally as a remedy for liver disorders and scurvy and the plant was thought to have anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties.
There is an old saying that you know that Spring has arrived when you can cover seven daisies with one foot – with only a single flower on our little plant, found in the seating area, we still have some way to go!
