This month we are taking a look back over the year in Reg’s Meadow and highlighting some ways in which the plant growth has been noticeably different from the previous year. Some of these differences have occurred as a result of the 2006 weather patterns, while others result from altered management in parts of the meadow. Some plants have disappeared, while others have declined in number but we have found several new species as we monitored the meadow during 2006.

First Shoots	Waiting Bud

The winter of 2005/6 was cold and mainly dry and spring came late this year, with everything happening around 2-3 weeks later than in 2005. Some shoots were evident in the meadow even in January, but these stayed small for a long time. The tiny cowslip plants were obviously smaller than at the same time last year, hardly seeming to grow any larger, and buds on most of the trees and hedgerow shrubs remained tightly closed through February. In early March we had quite a lot of wet weather, which began to warm up the soil and speed up plant growth.

April 2005	April 2006

Early April was still fairly cold, but there was quite a lot of sunshine, and we could see things beginning to happen. The buds broke into leaf in the hedgerows and the yellow of the cowslips started to show, noticeably behind their 2005 display, as can be seen from the two photographs.

After that everything went mad in the meadow in May and June. All the plants seemed to push up at once, jostling for space, light and dominance. The grasses came up strongly among the other plants and everything was lush, green and colourful. Where it had so far been possible to identify the green foliage of individual species quite easily, it now ran away from us and we didn’t know where to look first, to keep track of what was growing where in the profusion! 

Wildlife Cover Strip

One of the places where this was most apparent was in the area left unmowed in autumn 2005 to act as a wildlife cover strip. We checked this strip on each visit to see if growth within it was significantly different from the rest of the meadow but found that it was much the same. We expected that the dead grass and foliage cover left over winter might stunt the growth of the new plants beneath it but this had not happened. The plants sheltered by the dead foliage were probably less susceptible to the winter cold and frost and grew just as well. This is also noticeable in the copses and along the hedges, where the grass is not mowed, and the plants in these areas are sometimes taller and stronger than elsewhere. As the foliage in the strip surged upwards in early summer it blended in with the surrounding area so well that the cover strip simply disappeared and we couldn’t find it any more!

Bare Pond	Lush Pond

We have also been looking closely at what has happened in the old pond near the seating area. The pond was removed during the winter of 2005/6, leaving a large, bare circle and the remains of a few water-loving plants. The soil left from the pond was very rich in nutrients, quite different from most of the meadow, and has produced a profusion of plants, starting small and finally becoming a dense mass of flowers and foliage. Among these were many of the species which generally appear in newly disturbed ground, including Nettles, Charlock,

Poppy Pond

Scarlet Pimpernel, Fumitory, Field Poppy and Sun Spurge, all of which we also saw growing in the specially ploughed strips during 2005. We also identified four new species for our list in the pond area, Black Bindweed, Shepherd’s Purse, Opium Poppy and Persian Speedwell, as well as one or two other plants which we have not yet been able to identify with certainty. The visual highlight of the year for the pond has to be the stunning display of red Field Poppies in July, once again a sign of recently disturbed or opened up ground. The poppies glowed red, even on the dullest of days. The pond has been one of the most interesting areas in the meadow and we will continue to monitor it closely in 2007 to see what changes take place as it continues to develop.

Musk Thistle

This year has seen some noticeable differences in the balance of plants in Reg’s meadow. Some of the species which make such an impression on the meadow every year were just as much in evidence as in previous years, with Bird’s Foot Trefoil, Cowslip, Lady’s Bedstraw and Marjoram giving us their usual colourful display, but a few old favourites have been less widespread, including Ox-Eye Daisy, Kidney Vetch, Common Broomrape and Musk Thistle.

Kidney Vetch	Common Broomrape

The Ox-Eye Daisy was found in quite large patches in parts of the meadow but there did not seem to be as many of these patches as last year. We hardly noticed any Kidney Vetch until it was already beginning to seed and the same was true of Common Broomrape, which seemed to be much more abundant in 2005. Creeping Thistle was widespread but the large, purple nodding heads of Musk Thistle were few and far between. One plant which we found in only one place in 2004 has disappeared altogether. This was Weld, found a little way along the opposite side of the path which runs past the old pond, and we had hoped that it would reappear in 2005 or 2006, but were disappointed. Weld is related to Wild Mignonette, which grows regularly in the meadow.

Red Bartsia	Melilot
Clustered Bellflower	Hoary Plantain

While some species have been less in evidence, others have thrived and spread. Red Bartsia, previously found quite sparsely, has covered a large part of the meadow this year. This is a straggly, rather nondescript little plant, but it has pretty pinkish-purple flowers if you get down to look at it closely. Goat’s Beard, which we have not yet managed to photograph in flower, but only by its very distinctive, large, dandelion-like seed heads, has also spread considerably, from just one or two plants found last year to quite large clumps in various places. The same is true of Melilot, which we identified in only one place in 2005, through binoculars, so as not to walk in parts of the meadow where there might be ground-nesting birds! This year it is growing strongly in a number of places, especially along the right-hand, northern side of the meadow. The pale purple spikes of Hoary Plantain have really stood out and there seems to have been more of this than usual, with bigger flowers. We always have a good showing of Bird’s Foot Trefoil in our meadow, but it has been especially abundant in 2006, with the flowers appearing to grow taller and stronger than ever. The spikes of Clustered Bellflower have grown very tall this season and looked quite stately.

We have three further new species for our list in the main body of the meadow. These are Bluebell, which grew in one small patch near the hides, Dog’s Mercury, found in the right-hand, older hedgerow and Toadflax, which has been growing for a long time in the deer enclosure but not previously made it into the meadow. Surprisingly, the patch of Toadflax growing in the meadow was a long way from the deer enclosure, down towards the bottom of the right-hand hedgerow, near the compost heap.

The variations in the weather, as well as a different cutting regime in the winter of 2005/6 have had their effect on what has been growing in Reg’s Meadow this year and some plants seem to have found the conditions very much to their liking while others have not done quite as well. By the time you read this page the meadow will have been mowed and will then move once more into its dormant winter period. One of the pleasures of surveying such a beautiful site is the anticipation of what will come up next year and we are already looking forward to exploring the riches of Reg’s Meadow in 2007.

Featured Plants – New Species found in Reg’s Meadow in2006

	Black Bindweed (Fallopia convolvulus) is not actually one of the Bindweeds, but is a member of the Dock family. It is a climbing or scrambling annual with small, greenish-white or greenish-pink flowers and heart-shaped or arrow-shaped leaves, which grows on arable land, hedgerows, woodland borders and wastelands. It has long been a problem weed of arable land.
	Common Field Speedwell (also known as Persian Speedwell) (Veronica persica) is a member of the Figwort family, a small, sprawling annual which has blue or bluish-violet flowers with dark veins and white lower petal and centre, found in disturbed ground and flowering from February to November, or sometimes all through mild winters.
	Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) is a member of the Cabbage and Cress family. It is an erect, roughly hairy annual, one of the commonest weeds, found in gardens, arable fields and waste ground. It is easily recognized by its fruits, which are shaped like old-fashioned purses. It had some herbal uses for disorders of blood or digestion and was eaten as a winter vegetable.
	Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) is an erect perennial, a member of the Figwort family, found on grassland, roadsides, hedge banks and wasteland, flowering from July to October or November. The flowers are yellow, with a more orange centre, clustered at the top of erect leafy stems. Toadflax is sometimes a garden escape, possibly hybridised with garden varieties, where they are usually known as Snapdragon.
	Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scriptus) is a bulbous perennial, a member of the Lily family found in woodland, hedge banks and sea cliffs. The flowers grow on one side of a tall, drooping stem, unlike the Spanish Bluebell with its more erect flowers growing around the stem. The Spanish variety is a threat to the native British plant, as it is spreading into the countryside and hybridising with the native variety.
	Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) is a member of the Spurge family, a hairy perennial found in woodland and shady hedge banks, particularly on limestone, where it forms a dense carpet. It flowers from February to May and is an indicator plant of ancient woodland, but also spreads out into hedgerows.
	Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) is a member of the Poppy family and is a tall, robust, striking annual, with bluish-green leaves and stem and single pale lilac flowers with a darker purple base. They are often found in disturbed ground or wasteland, on road verges and cultivated land, or sometimes as a garden weed. They flower from June till September, and are a powerful narcotic and anaesthetic, used to produce morphine and codeine. The seeds are also used for cooking and to make an edible oil.