Reg’s Meadow - August 2007
The Meadow Loves Rain! – The Year So Far
The autumn and winter of 2006/7 were reasonably warm, with only occasional cold snaps and quite a lot of rain, a pattern which continued until March, when a period of sunnier, drier weather set in. April was particularly warm, a treat for Easter, with recorded temperatures in the south higher than they had been for over 300 years. As we moved into May and June, things changed to wet, wetter and even wetter, bad news for us, perhaps, but actually quite good for the plants in Reg’s meadow. Chalk grassland does not hold surface water, as the slightly acid rain dissolves the chalk and runs away through it. It is only when we have periods of unusually high rainfall that the plants of this type of soil get an extra helping of water and we are seeing the results of this in the plant growth in the meadow this summer.
From January to March very little was happening in the meadow centre - on each of our visits it looked much the same. Tiny foliage was coming up, but growing very slowly. Even the cowslips, although evident everywhere, remained small for a long time, finally reaching their full glorious yellow some 3-4 weeks later than in 2006. When other flowers began to appear we noticed other differences from the year before. Bird’s Foot Trefoil seemed more abundant than usual and another yellow flower stood out, with lots more Meadow Buttercup than we have seen in previous years.
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Quaking Grass |
Golden Oat Grass |
Among the early grasses, Quaking Grass was abundant all over the meadow and as other species have grown up we have found more Timothy Grass, a lot more Golden Oat Grass, but less Crested Dog’s Tail and some other grasses. We have not had time to study the grasses closely this year, but will hopefully do so again next year. There are some which we have not yet identified for certain and we feel sure that there must be other species still to be discovered growing out there.
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St John's Wort |
Musk Mallow |
Musk Mallow |
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Self-Heal grown tall |
Self-Heal |
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Clustered Bellflower |
Musk Thistle |
The quantity of rainfall has had a quite dramatic effect on some plants. If you look out across the meadow in July you will see numerous large clumps of golden yellow St. John’s Wort, standing above the grasses which have now mostly seeded and are dying down. Less conspicuous but also growing well this year is Musk Mallow, showing in delicate pink patches here and there. In other years we have had only a few Mallow plants, but conditions this year seem to suit them.
Self-Heal has been one of the less prominent flowers in previous years, growing mainly low down along the mown paths or hidden among the taller foliage, but this year the plants have shot up and are really tall, as seen here with a plant almost as tall as the surrounding grasses. We have not found many Clustered Bellflowers this year, but where it is growing it is fairly spectacular – this patch is growing at the bottom of the meadow, in Huckle’s Copse and there is one other very tall specimen just coming into flower near the right-hand, northern hedge. Also in Huckle’s Copse is a splendid Musk Thistle, which has grown up much taller than usual, right to the top of one of the tree guards. There is not much Musk Thistle to be found this summer, but this one is thriving.
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Agrimony |
Bladder Campion |
There have been some interesting new arrivals this year. Just beyond the low evergreen hedge as you walk to the meadow seating area we have a small clump of Agrimony, with its pretty five-petalled yellow flowers and reddish-brown stamens. This plant is our featured species at the end of this page. Another new plant for us is Bladder Campion, found this year in a patch close to the path running down the meadow on the left hand, southern side.
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Bladder Campion |
White Campion |
Bladder Campion has white flowers similar to White Campion, but can be easily distinguished by the inflated, bladder-like calyx which give it its common name. We found one attractive small sedge plant early in the year, close to the path near the hides, which we have not yet identified with certainty. Common Broomrape has been found in the meadow before, but this year we think we have found a second species, Knapweed Broomrape, much taller, the brown spike showing in the centre of the second picture below, and with yellowish stigmas, as opposed to the purplish ones of Common Broomrape. Broomrape is often much easier to spot as it dies away, when the brown seed heads stand out more clearly against the meadow greens, and it is then that we often find it!
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Sedge (unidentified) |
Knapweed Broomrape |
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Red Bartsia |
Rough Chervil |
Our meadow now has two different subspecies of Red Bartsia, which we will describe in more detail in a later page. One plant, which we have been uncertain about, we have now identified as Rough Chervil. It looks very similar to Cow Parsley but flowers later, has slightly more delicate flowers and solid stems, often spotted with purple, as opposed to the hollow, ridged stems of Cow Parsley. This plant has been flowering in profusion along the hedge at the bottom of the meadow. Another member of the same family is Hogweed, also doing very well this summer, mainly white-flowered, but also occasionally a delicate pink. (This should not be confused with its larger and nastier family member, Giant Hogweed, growing up to 10 feet tall, the juice of which can cause blistering to the skin if handled).
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Male Pheasant and Stock Doves |
Small Tortoiseshell & Marbled White |
There is plenty of other wildlife in the meadow. A family of pheasants has been seen regularly along the right hand hedgerow, visiting the feeder placed there. The female is shy and I wasn’t able to catch her on camera, but the male is seen here with two stock doves. The insects are busy now that summer is here (supposedly!) and the sound of grasshoppers can be heard all around.
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Burnet Caterpillar |
Burnet Chrysalis |
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Six Spot Burnet |
Hoverfly |
The air is full of butterflies and moths, with many more Marbled White Butterflies than we have seen in any other year. Some Six-Spot Burnet moths are already flying, with their distinctive flash of red, while others are still in their caterpillar or chrysalis forms and will fly later. Beetles are busy feeding on the flowers and we have many different hoverflies, wasps and bees. We will bring you another Insects and Invertebrates page later in the year.
This time of year is the very best for seeing all kinds of life in Reg’s Meadow, so if you haven’t been out there for a look round, make the most of any days (or minutes!) of sunshine and see what you can find.
