Wild Flowers in Long Compton

Encouraging the regrowth of wild flowers on highway verges in Long Compton.

Intention.

To encourage by seeding, planting and fertility management the growth of indigenous wild flowers on two areas of the verges on Bury Way, Long Compton (indicated by red dots on the image above) and, if suitable, to encourage similar re-population on the narrower verges connecting the two areas, enabling their re-classification as species-rich grassland. It is hoped that, if successful, this project will inspire the regeneration of other areas of the village, and act as a source of seed to support such projects.

The intention is to restore the range and variety of plant life our grandparents would have expected to see, so the outcome will be lower-key and more subtle than we might achieve by simply re-seeding with a selection of Eastern European seed. I expect to see a variety of vetches, clovers, scabious, campion - that kind of thing. 

Stages in the process 

The process of regenerating indigenous vegetation is neither quick nor simple.

The first step is to survey what we already have, including the possibility that there might be rare or interesting grasses. Such a survey would require botanical expertise, which I don't have. Help required.

The next step would be to establish what plants we would wish to see, based on soil type and on what we can learn from wild plant populations surviving in undisturbed pockets in the vicinity. They would, ideally, have been undisturbed since 1939, before agriculture became intensified, more mechanised, and more dependent on chemical inputs. It may be possible that older residents have memories of what plants there were, or we may be lucky enough to find, as in Corbett’s ‘History of Spelsbury’, a list of plants commonly found in the area.

Management 

The key principles behind success in re-establishing native species appear to be:

1. reducing soil fertility, to discourage greedy competitors – grass, nettles, cow parsley – by carefully timed mowing, and by removal of clippings and thatch before they can decompose and recycle as plant nutrients, and by encouraging plants like yellow rattle, which are parasitic on the roots of grasses, again reducing their effectiveness as competitor species. Wild flowers prefer poor soils.

2. possibly removing nutrient-rich topsoil and re-seeding

3. establishing an effective mowing cycle, taking into account the growth and seeding patterns of the plants we wish to encourage, the soil type, and the existing vegetation. The mowing pattern should be negotiated with the Highways authority and with the Parish Council (responsible for mowing), and should ensure that highway safety is not compromised by, for example, obscuring lines of sight or by making pedestrian access difficult. There are clear examples of possible mowing schedules in the downloadable document, ‘Managing Grassland Verges’, available at https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/our-work/publications/road-verge-management-guide.

We have been promised seed from established projects. This is probably better than buying commercial seed, which can have its origins in Eastern Europe and may include non-native species.

There will be a need for physical input, principally in the removal of cuttings. However, there is also a need for help with preparing the ground for seeding and planting. I have been advised that we are more likely to establish flowers from plug plants rather than from scattered seed, and may need gardeners’ resources to grow those.

We have the support of our District and County Councillors, and should be able to access practical help and guidance both from the AONB’s ‘Glorious Cotswold Grassland’ project, and ‘Plantlife’.The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust may also be able to help, as might the Stour Valley Wildlife Action Group.

It would be very useful indeed to have input from villagers, whether that be information from memory of what plants used to grow here, or knowledge of existing pockets of original vegetation, or the kind of expertise that will help us identify what species we already have. The re-established verges will need oversight and management – not arduous, necessarily, but persistent and attentive. 

I’m happy to start this project, but would welcome support from villagers to take on the commitment to keep it going.

Do read ‘Managing Grassland Verges’, available at https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/our-work/publications/road-verge-management-guide for a clear idea of what would be involved. 

Immediate needs 

• to secure a supply of Yellow Rattle plug plants for planting out in the Spring
• to establish what plants we might expect to find, based on local knowledge and memory, and on County records
• when they begin to emerge, to establish and to record what wild flowers we already have on the sites.
  
  I'd be very pleased to have for publication here any photographs - copyright-free - of wild flowers found in the village. All contributions acknowledged. 

Thanks to Walter, Ken and Chris for advice offered so far. 

Harry Dodds