Dyed in the Wool

A few days ago I called in at Martin's Meadows - the Dyer's greenweed (Genista tinctoria) was in full bloom and a buzz with bees.

A native of old grasslands and green lanes of the  boulder clay this member of the pea family really shines out in the meadow.  It's rich yellow flowers were once used for dyeing   fabric - hence its name.In addition to being an uncommon native plant in Suffolk, Dyer's greenweed was once widely cultivated. The account of the species in Martin Sanford's excellent  'A Flora of Suffolk' (2010) includes reference to Dyer's greenweed being cultivated and harvested in fields near Debenham in the 19th Century, with the resulting harvest going off by the cart load to be used for cloth dyeing in Haverhill.

Having been fairly widely cultivated, it is likely that the current Suffolk population of the plant is a mixture of both the true native and relics of cultivation.
It only occurs in one meadow at Martin's meadow (the most easterly one), but it does seem to be slowly spreading which is certainly good news for the bees who seem to absolutely love it.

A sea of green

It is the height of the grasses season at the moment. Often overlooked in favour of the more colourful meadow flowers like ox-eye daisy, buttercup, sorrel and orchids - the grasses put on a more subtle display. Yet look closely and they are just as beautiful and varied. (Picture to the left  - from left to right - wall barley, sweet vernal grass, red fescue, false oat grass, cock's foot, soft brome, rough meadow grass, Yorkshire fog, perennial rye grass, quaking grass, yellow oat grass - note: not all 'hay' grasses)

The grasses are also the 'main stay' of the meadows. Without them there would be little or no 'keep' (grazing or hay for livestock). Broad leaved herbs are of course an important part of hay/grazing providing variety and flavour, but it is the grasses that have the main feed value and best storage qualities. Well made hay is very much sought after and its ability to be stored makes it a vital for feeding livestock during the winter.

The timing of hay making is all important and varies around the country, depending on local climate and soil.  Ideally the hay is cut just as the grasses begin to flower, but before all the 'feed value'  and energy in the stem  has been used up by the grasses forming seed.

We are just entering the stressful time of year when hay-making begins, with anxious hay makers constantly looking to the skies to see if there is any dry weather on the horizon.  Harvesting and making hay requires several days of good dry weather - to cut, turn and allow the hay time to 'make' before it is baled and safely stacked undercover. Whilst the high rainfall in recent months has resulted in good hay growth - some fine weather to 'make hay whilst the sun shines' is now much needed. Fingers crossed!

Buttercup blog part 2

Following on from my last post, I thought I would just add a couple more buttercup pictures I took at Martin's Meadows today.
The summer weather that has arrived this week has really moved the flowering season on a pace and the meadow buttercups seem to have reached their peak in a matter of days.

As we walked around the edge of the meadows, Ellie caught a buttercup in her collar - an excellent  photo opportunity and from the slight yellow glow beneath her chin I would say she definitely likes butter!

Buttercup blog

We are in the midst of 'buttercup month' at the moment.

On the  drier grasslands (e.g Hutchison's meadow and many churchyards and road verges), bulbous buttercup - Ranunculus bulbosus has been in bloom for a week or two, adding some welcome yellow 'sunlight' to the rather rain swept days of April and early May. A frequent companion of one of the earliest flowering meadow grasses -  sweet vernal grass - Anthoxanthum odoratum, bulbous buttercup is easily distinguished from other buttercups, by it softly lobed leaves and its down-turned or reflexed sepals.

Often at least a fortnight of so later, meadow buttercup - Ranunculus acris begins to flower - carrying its much taller flowering heads up into the hay. It also has a much more cut or dissected leaf.

 Meadow buttercup is the buttercup that creates the beautiful haze of yellow seen in hay meadows - often flowering at the same time as common sorrel - Rumex acetosa - the yellow buttercup contrasting dramatically with the red sorrel.

For me, 'buttercup month' also means returning to the office after a meadow visit  with my shoes or boots covered with yellow dust from the petals and pollen!

A snake in the grass

This month, the meadows begin to 'move' as days lengthen, the soil warms up and April showers and downpours provide welcome moisture. However, growth is slow, the 'spring flush' of grass is yet to take off. Early and low flowering species like barren strawberry, bugle and germander speedwell are still clearly visible and cowslips are often the tallest flowers in the meadows.
This is an ideal time to see Adder's tongue - Ophioglossum vulgatum. This curious low-growing fern  occurs in old, undisturbed grasslands - its simple, lime-green leaves often forming quite large colonies of no more than a few centimetres high. The sporangia from which spores are released arise from the centre of the leaf  like a snake's tongue - hence the name Adder's tongue.

Blackthorn winter

The first week of April has brought a few hours of welcome rain, not enough to remedy the drought, but enough for the meadow grasses to begin to show signs of green. The rain has been followed by what always feels very typical of Suffolk spring weather - bright sunshine to draw us outside, but a keen north easterly wind to remind us not to leave our coats at home!

Cold snaps like this often seem to coincide with the Blackthorn flowering and the first cowslips opening - hence the expression 'Blackthorn or Cowslip Winter'. I don't know whether this is a Suffolk expression or one in wider usage - but it certainly seems to hold true most springs.

Another early flowering grassland plant in flower at the moment is field woodrush or as it is sometimes known 'Good Friday grass'. It certainly lives up to this name as you can invariably find it in flower on Good Friday despite the timing of Easter varying from year to year.

I called in at Mickfield meadow last week on a bright but cold spring day. One of the oaks in the meadow was full of chattering fieldfares gathering for their journey - the onset of spring here, being the signal for them to head to pastures 'north'.

The meadow has hardly moved since autumn, the soil temperatures still too low for much growth. But in a sheltered, sunny corner, barren strawberry and dog's mercury flower at the base of the hedge and the first blackthorn flowers emerge.

Walking back to the car along the nearby green lane, I was struck by the contrast of the vibrant almost iridescent green of the 'early to grow' rough-stalked meadow grass and lesser celandine, in comparison to the as yet leafless hedge. But spring is definitely underway - the path was scattered with bud frass, where the pussy willow has burst into bloom and a bumble bee meandered past me, in pursuit of some early pollen and nectar.