Wildflower Verges Update - October 2021

Thanks to the hard work of Dougie and Helen of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB and their team of volunteers, all three of our pilot verges have now been seeded and over 150 plug (ie. pot) plants put into the two verges at the Blackdyke Road recycling site.

All three sites look well and the timing looks to be perfect: the recent rain means the soil is in an ideal condition for the plants to get established in the autumn and thus survive the winter. The soil is still warm and will stay so for perhaps the next month. Most of the seeds will stay dormant till spring but some may germinate during autumn or winter if the weather stays mild.

What is very encouraging is that, after the fine preparation work done by our contractor, some plants already on site are growing already - Hedge Parsley and Ground Elder, for example (yes, I know, gardeners will flinch at the words ‘Ground Elder’ - but in the verges, it’s not a weed!). It has always been an important objective of the pilot to encourage the growth of the more desirable plant species already present.

The plug plants include Meadow Cranesbill, Ox-eye Daisy, Meadowsweet, Yarrow, Birds-foot Trefoil and Ragged Robin. The range of species is designed to produce flowers from early spring through to late summer. This is not only important for the amenity value of the verges but crucial for the pollinators we are seeking to support. In future years, these pioneers will set their own seed and spread across the sites.

One of the most important seeds we’ve broadcast is Yellow Rattle, which is not only an attractive flower but also semi-parasitic on grasses, so slowing their growth. By inhibiting these vigorous grasses the less competitive flowers are given a better chance to thrive. Other seeds include Eyebright (another semi-parasite) and one of my favourite wildflowers, Betony.

It’s important to stress that all the seeds scattered were collected by the AONB staff from the Arnside area and the plug plants are all native species sourced locally.

Councillor Steve Porter
Arnside Verges Working Group