NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

The countdown continues for my most enjoyable natural history events of the last five years: 6. Sheepleas in the light and dark I have never been one of those naturalists who have fallen totally under the spell of orchids. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy looking at them and have spent some wonderful times in their company. But I cannot pretend to be in total awe of them like many others are. If they are there, then great, but my enthusiasm and energy is just as high for many other plant families. I guess that is why it took me so long to finally see Narrow-lipped Helleborine, even though one of the well known stations for this species is not all that far from my home. In early August of 2016, news started to filter out that the Narrow-lipped Helleborines at Sheepleas, in Surrey, were having a rather good year. Over the years these plants have had a rather 'up-and-down' time of it, with poor flowering years; damage due to being nibbled by deer or slugs; and a slight veil...

2016 botanical highlights I adopted a rather laid-back approach to looking for plants this year. There were no target species named and no worthy aims, just a case of observing whatever I came across. There are downsides to this casual approach - unless I am keeping a list for a site I tend not to identify 'hard-to-do' species, so a whole raft of crucifers, grasses, roses and willows (to name but a few) were left well alone. Last year saw a great local flowering of several species, particularly orchids. This was not repeated in 2016. However, there were some breathtaking botanically induced scenes, and these will be dealt with in a future post. So, what were the stand-out moments? I've chosen three... Literary Bird's-nests At the end of 2015 I was contacted by Jon Dunn, Shetland-based 'virtual-friend', author and blogger. He had been commissioned to write a book about the UK's orchids and was wondering if I would like to assist him in his search for a de...

Sheepleas, a Surrey Wildlife Trust reserve situated between Guildford and West Horsley, is one of those places that had dropped off of my radar. I last visited in 1998, from when I can remember a vast network of footpaths, and was also aware that Narrow-lipped Helleborine can occur there. This local and decreasing species is something of a phantom in the county, often being nibbled by deer (or slugs) before it gets a chance to flower - and that is if it decides to appear above ground at all! So, when a number of twitter and Facebook account holders started to post images of said orchid from said reserve, my curiosity was awoken... The short story is that I saw 24 spikes in all, within a small, discrete area: The nearby meadows were crammed to bursting point with flower. I have never seen so much Clustered Bellflower in one place, nudging neighbouring Marjoram, Wild Basil, Agrimony, Common Knapweed, Burnet Saxifrage and St.John's Wort (didn't specify them!) for room...