A look at Herefordshire countryside in summer

3:02pm Friday 8th August 2008

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As seems to be the pattern nowadays, it proved difficult to recognise when spring ended and summer began. Spells of fine weather have been interspersed with cold, wind and rain and, just when we thought it time to lay out the garden for the summer, along came periods of solid downpours and strong winds, flattening many plants, in my case, setting them back at least a couple of weeks.

In spite of the varying conditions, early summer appears to have been a good time for the countryside, with many birds having raised a second brood and an abundance of wild flowers in meadow, hedgerow and roadside verge.

The drifts of flowers, moving gently in the breeze among the various grasses, have amply repaid just a little effort on my part

John Wesley

Fruits and berries are maturing, providing plentiful supplies for wildlife, though preference seems to be for the easy pickings, as our cherry tree and raspberry canes were again the agreed location for the AGM of the Herefordshire Blackbirds Association.

Putting aside our lack of garden picked fruit and the vagaries of the summer weather, the past month or so has been interesting and enjoyable, having included valued opportunities to look, listen and learn.

I have to admit that I knew next to nothing about Britain’s beautiful and slightly mysterious wild orchids, but can now state that my knowledge has increased to just above minimal.

My privileges included trips to see the surprising range of species at the excellent Welsh coastal nature reserve at Ynyslas, and an invitation to visit friends whose farm meadows are home to what must be one of the most impressive displays of common spotted orchids.

I had always considered orchids to be very rare and endangered, in fact, the only ones I had recognised in the past were at Ynyslas, yet I came to appreciate the fact that such description applies only to certain of the species.

I assume that I haven’t looked hard enough, or in the right places, and my recent experiences have given me a new “eye” for these lovely plants. I can also understand why those who know their locations tend to keep the information to themselves, as there has been a long history of collectors, and less scrupulous gardeners, digging them up.

The irony is that orchids so removed will never transfer successfully to a habitat which doesn’t have very specific conditions, and transplanting them will inevitably lead to the plant’s demise.

I found the fact that orchids flourish in such varied locations of great interest, for the lush pastures of Herefordshire clearly provide very different conditions, such as climate and nutrient content, to the sand dunes of the Dovey Estuary.

I now understand the common factor, which is a unique relationship between the plants and an underground fungus, without which some orchids cannot grow and others cannot reproduce.

As orchid seeds are very small, they contain little nutrition for the developing plant, so the seed has to fall into a surface which has exactly the right levels of moisture, temperature and light, as well as the correct fungus.

The fungus then attacks the seed, but the plant then reverses the attack by breaking down the fungal cells and extracting its necessary nutrients from them. While some orchids then develop typical leaves which produce food through photosynthesis, others rely on their relationship with the fungus to sustain them through life.

With much still to learn, I hope to attend one of the guided tours at Ynyslas in future, to hear an expert’s views on these fascinating plants.

While somewhat less exotic, our small conservation area has provided a superb show of wild flowers during June and July, with extra pleasure resulting from a modest experiment.

While the area has always supported Ox-eye daisies, I noticed a gradual decrease in the number of flowering plants, so three years ago, took seed which I then grew in my garden.

The fertile soil resulted in a mass of flowers and prolific seed production, which I have since recycled, both by producing small plants and sprinkling the seed, back into the field.

The drifts of flowers, moving gently in the breeze among the various grasses, have amply repaid just a little effort on my part. While I am tempted to repeat the exercise with other wild flowers, I think I will now leave well alone for a year or two, just allowing nature to again balance its own resources.