May 2011

What a fantastic spring and at the time of writing, coming into the fourth week of the month, April has given us wall-to-wall sunshine and temperatures that have been as high as 74 Fahrenheit/24 Celsius. The Met office has forecast that April will prove to be the driest for 100 years and it looks very likely as far as the South East and East Anglia are concerned with both farmers and gardeners in these areas hoping for a few April showers. However, notwithstanding the lack of rain, the flowering times for spring flowers seem to have been concertinaed. After the very cold weather and heavy snow in December and again in January narcissi and daffodils were a little late in starting but, suddenly everything seems to be coming at the same time and many wild and garden plants are flowering much earlier than usual – whatever usual means these days. Bluebells were showing colour as early as 6 April and by the third week of the month they could be seen everywhere in the village along woodland edges and in the various copses and woods known for their outstanding displays such as Hornecourt Wood. In late March early primroses and the delightful, blue sweet violets could be seen poking their flowers through the leaf litter in the woods at the top of Hornecourt Hill. Dandelions are more numerous than they have been for a very long time and the roadside verges are carpeted with this gorgeous golden yellow flower that, if it were rare, would be coveted by plant collectors as a special for their herbaceous borders

The cleared area of woodland on the common at the top end of Millers Lane has also burst into life. There are swathes of sky blue foreget-me-nots, the pink ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) known in Gloucestershire as meadow pinks; the bluebells, including a number of the white coloured sport and even a few pink coloured flowers which could be a hybrid between the wild bluebells and garden scillas; colonies of that beautiful yellow flowered dead-nettle archangel (Galeobdalon luteum) which, although it can be become rather invasive, makes a real statement in a woodland garden setting. And then as though this was not enough these artists colour-washes are interspersed with smaller patches of blue flowered bugle (Ajuga reptans), also known in Somerset by the delightful name of baby's rattle; pale yellow primroses, one or two flowers of which were cyclamen pink and the small but not to be missed, almost fluorescent, pale blue flowers of germander speedwell aka eyebright (Veronica chamaedrys).

Birds have started laying eggs earlier than usual and, although the call of the male cuckoo has been reported by very people this year, Julie Biddles, who has kept a diary for many years, heard her first cuckoo on Saturday 2 April. Buzzards are increasing in numbers and over the last few weeks they have taken advantage of the thermals on which they climb until they disappear from sight and, just a few days ago, I counted six at the same time quartering the fields for quarry to the east of Dayseys Hill. There have also been some early appearances of butterflies including orange tips in early April with a holly blue and a number of cabbage whites in the third week of the month.

All this is just the start – there is so much more to come!

Mike Johnson