Thursday 13th July 2023

In the Meadow

Today we launched operation 'extend the meadow'. We have a small area of wild meadow at the top of the arboretum near the willow structures.

Although only a small area the diversity is good. The early spring was announced with an abundant display of cowslips. This has been followed by various species including sorrels, bedstraws, vetch, knapweeds and most importantly Yellow Rattle.

Yellow Rattle is a very handy plant. It is parasitic and feeds off the roots of turf. This means it can be used to establish an area of meadow in an existing area of normal grassland.

The grass is cut short, scarified and the Yellow Rattle seeds scattered over the area. The hope is that the seed will establish and rattle spring up. When the rattle is established it feeds off the existing grass thereby weakening and thinning it's growth.

This creates space for other wild meadow species to arrive. Yellow rattle helps establish meadow and our plan was to use this plant's wonderful property to start increasing the area of wild meadow that the arboretum already enjoys.

The area to be extended was between the edge of the existing meadow and the path. This piece of grass verge had been cut short the previous day in preparation for the work.

Most of the volunteers worked their way through the meadow, walking gingerly so as to not trample down the remaining flora, whilst cutting down and collecting the rattle stems.

At the same time the turf strip was scarified. This tool has a set of sharp knives which rip through the tufts, removing moss and dead thatch, and so creating places where the rattle seed can fall through and come in contact with the soil.

The rattle stems with seed pods are then strewn across the new meadow area and left to naturally deposit seed over the coming days.

Unfortunately, the previous weekend had seen some windy gusts and heavy rain, so that some of the seed had already been dropped before we could get to it. But this is probably a good thing as it will seed the existing area.

Over the coming days grass clippings and any straw like materials that are collected during the working day will be deposited on the newly sown seed. This will protect the new seed from scavengers and hot sun, improving the chances of success.

Fingers crossed for next year

Underneath the spreading Hornbeam tree ?

The day was finished with another spell of digging, clearing and levelling under our Hornbeam.

This whole area was previously covered in bramble, but has since been mostly cleared. The plan here is to get the area completely bramble free, and install some seating, and perhaps a willow dome !

Another satisfying day at the arb!