March 2024

Still the rains continue to fall.

The land was already saturated from a wet start to the year and March continued in the same vein by bringing double the average rainfall to Cornwall. And the sun never really showed up.  As the MET Office said, 'March will go down as a wet and dull month.' Although mild in temperature for most of the month, it felt like the Winter was never going to end.  Children couldn't play outside, the animals were all continually soaking wet, no gardening could take place and the farmers' fields were submerged in water, with tractors getting stuck in the mud and unable to do any Spring planting.  Food security was an issue back on the agenda.  It was a tough month for many people. And to cap it all, the latest data from the Environment Agency showed that there had been a doubling in hours of Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) spills in 2023. Thus making last year in England the worst year for sewage discharge since monitoring began. Ironically the third of March was 'World Wildlife Day', supposedly 'a moment when we can pause to reflect on the world's plants and animals which make an incredible contribution to our world' (Cornwall Wildlife Trust). I'm not sure any politicians did any pausing or reflecting.

Whilst the rainfall has affected the land around The Lizard with lots of topsoil being washed away and fields of muddy pools, it drains away quickly with any dry weather and the low temperatures allow for continual growth.  The grass never stops growing, the difficulty is getting enough dry weather to allow cutting without creating a mush of cut, soggy grass.  Along the hedges the Alexanders continue to grow and flower and by the riverbank the Hemlock, Hogweed and Hemlock Water-dropwort are all flourishing in their usual home at the bottom of the field.  Further along the bank the Gunnera is starting to emerge from its triffid like base.  I have recently learnt that this plant is now banned in the UK.  It was introduced at some point in the 1800s and became very popular in the Victorian era in large, grand gardens. The original plant, known as Gunnera Manicata is 'benign and beautiful' (Royal Horticultural Society), but now it has been discovered that a vigorous new hybrid called Gunnera Tinctoria, and looking very similar is, 'highly invasive, spreading rapidly and choking native flora' (RHS). The sale of this plant is now banned and it is considered a criminal offence to plant it or give it away to others for planting.  I have no idea whether the one in our field is the invasive beast as they look almost identical apart from the fact that the spikes on the Manicata have a reddish hue.  I do know that there is very little fauna down in that corner other than Brambles and Hemlock and the Gunnera is only taking up a very small patch and it is not affecting the vibrant Willow plantation which is close to it. However, now I know it could be a problem, I will keep an eye on it and work out which variety we have on the land.  It is a plant that is found frequently around Cornwall and the Scilly Isles.

The Campion leaves are forming dense colonies everywhere, with many Foxgloves in amongst them. Gorse is looking strong, colourful and vigorous, the pale Primroses are still lining the tracks and hedges.  Batches of Plantain and Cranesbill continue to proliferate in the field, it the largest expansion so far of these plants. Small yellow snails are appearing on the trees, the Sweet Chestnut is starting to bud, the Dogwoods are dominating the hedges closer to the house and the Fig tree has decided that it ought to get cracking on producing some fruit this year and is now sporting a good covering of Figs.  But the rain continues its relentless activity and we all plod around in our very muddy wellingtons dreaming of the day we might be able to walk on drier lands.