In mid-July we surveyed the Pound Lane and Butts Close grass verges again. Grasses now predominate and we found Yorkshire Fog, Crested Dog’s Tail, Perennial Rye Grass, Creeping Bent, Sweet Vernal Grass, False Oat Grass, Cocks Foot Grass and Meadow Foxtail. We also found a few new species of wildflower to add to the list of 40+ we identified in our last report: smooth hawk’s beard, self-heal, fox and cubs, and ragwort. We pulled up the ragwort as it can be injurious to livestock and we didn’t want it to seed. We also found some docks and a few thistles on the Pound Lane verges and these we cut down and removed to prevent them from seeding.
We were pleased to see how well the Knapweed was doing (see picture). Knapweed is one of the best sources of good quality nectar for pollinating insects and as well as supporting our bees, butterflies and beetles, its seeds provide food for many birds. Your grass verges are now helping to make up for the 97% of wildflower meadows destroyed since the 1930s and we would like to thank everyone in the village for their support for this vital project. The verges will get their final cut during August and we will sow yellow rattle seeds to help reduce the grass and encourage more wildflowers for next year. This project has been generously supported by Bridford Parish Council.
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