All along the hedgerow

It’s National Hedgerow Week and to celebrate we invited local countryside and nature writer, Vicky Liddell to offer some reflections on the hedgerows at Harmony Woods.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

After the wettest and coldest May for a quarter of a century, the hedgerow is bursting into life as the plants put on their summer finery. Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is the dominant flowering species everywhere and Harmony is no exception - its bright white blossom looks like sprinkled flour and is the sign that spring is turning into summer.

Hawthorn is a vital species for wildlife and teems with life all through the year supporting more than 300 insects and it is the food plant for a long list of moth caterpillars including the hawthorn, orchard ermine, pear leaf blister and the vapourer. The flowering buds are eaten by dormice, the dense thorny foliage provides ideal nesting habitat and, later, the fleshy berries are devoured by thrushes. Strangely, for a plant that literally buzzes with life, it has long been associated with death by humans. Hawthorn is believed to be protected by the fairies and it should never be brought indoors. The slightly cloying smell of the blossom was compared in medieval times to that of the Great Plague and, in fact, there is some science behind this as the blossom contains trimethylamine, one of the main chemicals present in decaying animal tissue.  

Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea)

Guelder rose continues the white theme, dressed for a party with its flat topped lace edged nectar rich flowers which are particularly attractive to hoverflies.  This ancient plant of chalky soils has been in existence since the Iron Age and the name guelder refers to the Dutch province of Gelderland where a popular cultivar originated – it is not remotely related to a rose.  Underneath, the drifts of cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) form a frothy hem and threaded amongst them is another white flower, greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea) whose seeds have an explosive seed dispersal mechanism which is referenced in its other common name popguns or popper.  The plant was once used as a herbal remedy for stitches.

Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)

June is the month of the rose and in the Harmony hedgerow, the native dog rose, (Rosa canina) is already scrambling its way through the hedge.  Dog roses prefer to grow on the sunny side of a hedge and were known to Elizabethans as eglantine. The sweetly scented blooms range from white to pink and can be easily identified from the field rose which has cream flowers. The dog rose is a very appropriate flower to have at Harmony because it is the county flower of Hampshire.  Another common inhabitant of Hampshire hedgerows is dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) now on the cusp of flowering. The plant is most known for its red stems later in the year but it is a stalwart of the hedgerow and the white umbel flowers will be followed by blackish berries. The origin of its name come from the smooth, straight twigs which were used to make butchers skewers which were known as ‘dags’ or’dogs’.

Spreading among the grass at the base of the hedge are the bright blue jewel like flowers of germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys), a plant which was believed to bring good luck and health to travellers. The bright yellow clusters of black medick (Medicago lupulina), are also appearing – it is a common flower of alkaline soils and attracts many pollinating insects. There are dandelions too of course, (Taraxacum officinale agg. ) tracking the sun and opening an hour after sunrise and closing at dusk. Named from the French ‘dent de lion’ after their jagged foliage, there is not one dandelion but over 250 recorded species each with tiny differentiations.  Each plant can produced up to 20,000 seeds which, once germinated, can flower and seed in the same year. 

You can find more of Vicky’s lovely botanical musings on her blog A Year In A Hampshire Hedgerow.

If you would like to find out more about the wildflowers growing under the hedgerows and in the meadow at Harmony Woods then join us this Saturday (5th June) for a socially-distanced wildflower walk around the site. Please contact project ecologist, Alex Marshall to book your place.