This year we let the field grow wild without cutting it for silage. And the field repaid us handsomely for its freedom from the tractor. An abundance of grasses has spread across the land and given us a constant change of colour from the lemon green of new growth in the spring, to warmer greens from early summer suns, moving through a palette of warm ochres, siennas and shades of pink, mauve and lavender. Many wild flowers have shown their presence in various parts of the field. I do not know if they have always grown here or if they are new to this plot. 2020 is going to act as my baseline for this information. The field has been fortunate in that it has been farmed organically for the past 15 years. So, what delights has August given us? Or more to the point, what has August given us that I recognise and can name or explain with my limited knowledge? This Wilding project is clearly a journey of discovery for me.
August brought plenty of rain and many a muggy day with feisty storms towards the end of the month. The scent of wild honeysuckle hangs in the morning and evening air and the white owl has been spotted regularly on its evening jaunts. The apples are turning red and the figs have all ripened and been eaten and the rat is getting fat on the bird food. Swathes of pink colour is represented by willowherbs, campions, agrimony and clover. Violet and lavender comes with crowds of spearthistle, knapweed and vetch. The corn marigolds, bird's trefoil, catsear and St John' wort all show off their bright yellow flowers and the reds and burgundies are present in the saw-wort, redshank and the scarlet pimpernel. There are many more flowers and grasses yet to be named.
I have the usual assortment of guide books for all sorts of wildlife but my favourite companion for wildflowers is 'Wild Flowers As They Grow' by Corke and Nuttall, published in 1912. Corke took the photographs and Nuttall took care of the 'Descriptive Text'. Although nowhere near as comprehensive as later publications, it offers up a history of wildflowers through poetry, folklore and biology. Perfect for feeding the imagination and summing up the flavour and presence felt of the flower. The scarlet pimpernel gets a pretty bad press, 'a veritable gutter-snipe of the plant world'. Personally I like to see the bright red spots of petals showing through the grass. The Greeks used it for diseases of the eye, confirming, 'it helpeth them that are dim-sighted'. I'll keep that in my mind but don't try any tricks with this one at home.
The swallows became restless in the last few days of August and began to meet regularly for group chats on the telegraph wire. There is a frenzy of flying, dive bombing and all sorts of acrobatic stunts taking place at the top end of the field - the only flat piece of land on this hilly site. Sometime soon they will be gone to far warmer climes, thousands of miles away. Such a heroic and epic adventure. It's a sign of the changing season, the summer fading, a chill in the early morning and evening light. Time to find those woolly jumpers.
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