Elm Hedge

This hedge is largely made up of Elm.  Since Dutch Elm Disease hit the UK over 40 years ago, many mature elms have died, and been felled.  It changed the landscape of England dramatically.  However, in this hedge, elm persists.  What happens is that fresh young trees are constantly being produced within the hedge.  As the trunks within the hedge age and get to a certain thickness, cracks form which the Dutch Elm beetle carrying the fungus can access. Once there, the tree becomes infected with the fungus and dies.  This looks untidy but opens space for young elm to colonise.  This cycle has been going on in this hedgerow since the 1970’s.  At the same time, elm is good habitat for butterflies (including the rare White-letter Hairstreak) and other insects.

Fig gall, caused by aphids and Aceria elm gall mites are just two of the insect species living within the hedge.

The sunny southerly aspect of the hedge means that many species of bees and hoverflies are attracted to it.

Clumps of nettle along the bottom make good nest sites for whitethroats and yellowhammers that forage for insects to feed their young in the adjacent meadow. Yellowhammers are a red-listed species that does particularly well here because of the insect-rich meadows. In winter, kingfishers perch at the side of the hedge, looking to catch sticklebacks in the ditch.

Plenty of Milkmaids (Ladies Smock) mean plenty of  Orange- tip and Brimstone butterflies  in spring.

Butterflies seen close to this stretch of hedgerow include  Small Copper, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral.

Species-rich grassland – Lowland Meadow.

The field next to the track is land that was once used for growing grain. This became uneconomic towards the end of the 20^th century, as the land is poorly- drained and prone to flooding. For several years, the land was set aside as part of a Europe-wide initiative to reduce food mountains. During these years, natural processes started, now popularly called rewilding.  Over time, grassland species arrived via airborne seeds, and the occasional application of green hay from Marden Meadow SSSI. Many of the plants seen on the SSSI are now taking up home in this younger meadow.

In the last few years, the species complexity has increased, so that the meadows have now been classified as Lowland Meadow on the Priority Habitat Inventory.

Close to the public footpath there are some good meadow plants on view:

Meadow Vetchling, Tufted Vetch, Purple Loose-strife, Marsh Bedstraw and Lesser Stitchwort grow in profusion in summer.

Spring highlights include Adders-tongue fern and Changing Forget-me-not

Look out also for the meadow butterflies: Small Heath, Meadow Brown and Common Blue. Dayflying moths are sometimes seen, such as the Blood-vein and the Yellow Shell

In the wetter ground, you may even see the very rare True Fox Sedge.