Saturday, June 18, 2005
Protecting our bee orchids in Haverhill
If you've spotted a few verges in Haverhill that haven't been cut this spring, chances are they've been left alone for a reason: to protect the beautiful bee orchid.
The bee orchid is a scarce local plant so named because its flower looks like it has a bee disappearing into it. The plants are very transient as their seeds are fine like dust, so they blow in the wind and their settling sites can vary. That means we have good years and bad years but Haverhill may be one of the best areas in Suffolk to see them because they like the poor chalky soil. It takes four to five years for these delicate plants to eventually flower but when they do they can look spectacular. The plants can range from about 6 inches tall to almost two feet with the largest ones having up to a dozen pinky-purple flowers up the stalk.
Robin Crowther, Parks Operations Manager at St Edmundsbury Borough Council, says:
"This is just one example of our Parks and Landscape teams working together for the good of the environment. We don't just ruthlessly go ahead and mow down everything in sight when we are cutting the grass. We are sensitive to the areas we maintain so if we see anything that looks interesting we call the rangers in to have a look and then vary our grass cutting accordingly.
Simply by allowing the plants to flower and seed before we tidy the area up again we are helping promote biodiversity in our borough and keeping it an interesting an attractive place for people to live and visit."
If you've spotted a few verges in Haverhill that haven't been cut this spring, chances are they've been left alone for a reason: to protect the beautiful bee orchid.
The bee orchid is a scarce local plant so named because its flower looks like it has a bee disappearing into it. The plants are very transient as their seeds are fine like dust, so they blow in the wind and their settling sites can vary. That means we have good years and bad years but Haverhill may be one of the best areas in Suffolk to see them because they like the poor chalky soil. It takes four to five years for these delicate plants to eventually flower but when they do they can look spectacular. The plants can range from about 6 inches tall to almost two feet with the largest ones having up to a dozen pinky-purple flowers up the stalk.
Robin Crowther, Parks Operations Manager at St Edmundsbury Borough Council, says:
"This is just one example of our Parks and Landscape teams working together for the good of the environment. We don't just ruthlessly go ahead and mow down everything in sight when we are cutting the grass. We are sensitive to the areas we maintain so if we see anything that looks interesting we call the rangers in to have a look and then vary our grass cutting accordingly.
Simply by allowing the plants to flower and seed before we tidy the area up again we are helping promote biodiversity in our borough and keeping it an interesting an attractive place for people to live and visit."
