At a recent parish council meeting a few of us were treated to an intriguing talk about the Poffit Lane Rewilding Project. Now, like many others I have heard about herbal leys but had never actually seen any. What an incredible rich habitat they create, an absolute haven for insect and birdlife and when cut the fodder provides a far superior food source for the cattle that feed on it. The use of flails on most of the hedgerows will now be curtailed, which means that the hedges should thicken out and grow upwards, again to the benefit of all the wildlife in the area.
The planting of new hedges has commenced with 2,000 assorted whips and a further 3,371 hardwood trees have been planted, mostly along the wet flood plain. A combination of drainage pits and a series of leaky dams constructed from alder have significantly slowed the flow of flood water during periods of heavy rainfall at the same time filtering out sediments and greatly reducing soil erosion. This has meant that by the time this water enters the Tale it is almost crystal clear. The beavers and otters will love that!
On the home front we are going flat out preparing for the village open gardens in aid of Devon Hospiscare in early July. A lot of careful plant selection has been carried out with the candelabra primulas since the last time we opened and I have been delighted with starting to build up stocks of beautiful pastel coloured varieties, other than the more usual lavender or mauve ones. The astilbe collection has also been greatly extended with now more than 40 different varieties and these should be at their peak in July.
We have also been delighted to watch a female blue tit building a nest in one of our bird boxes which has a camera, and now feeding the hatchlings – only a mother could love these birds at this stage. Breaking news as we go to press, our house martins have returned – All is well with the world!
With the help of a small dedicated group of wildflower enthusiasts the project to record all the flora and fauna of the parish is progressing well, but there is always room for many more helpers. Is there anyone with a bird list in the Tale and Hembury Fort areas? If so please do let me know (I can be contacted on paullister175@gmail.com). I am also always interested to hear of any unusual wildflowers in any of the lanes.
