Hedgerow Heroes – summer wildflower planting

James Lunt, our CPRE Hertfordshire Hedgerow Heroes Project Officer, gives an update on wildflower planting in the hedgerow understory, including several planting dates in June where all are welcome to join in.

The May hedge. The planting of hedge plants in the winter chill seems a long way away now that we are firmly in the summer heat, and I have been frantically watering the young whips where in January / February they were sat in puddles!

The unpredictable weather these days is a reminder that we need resilient landscapes, with hedges helping to cool fields in summer through shading, and helping to warm fields in winter through acting as windbreaks.

Butterflies at risk

You may have seen recently a report by our partners on this project, Butterfly Conservation, whose UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme details the decline of many butterfly species across the country. The reason for many of these declines is a loss of habitat, and the specific foodplants they need to raise their caterpillars. An example is the White letter hairstreak which has declined by 80% nationally since 1979 due to the loss of most of our elm trees. This makes for sobering reading, but all is not lost, and we can do our bit by planting a diverse array of wildflowers to help support populations.

Get involved

As mentioned in the last update, I am now running several days over the next month to plant the hedges with understory species such as wild strawberries. These will help attract more of a diverse mix of pollinators and provide a mixture of foodplants for different butterflies, such as the Frizzled skipper.

Planting days will be on the 1^st, 3^rd, 15^th and 23^rd of June. If you fancy joining me at Lannock Farm near Stevenage to help give back to nature, please email me at Volunteering@cpreherts.org.uk for more information.

All tools and plants (as well as teas, coffees and water) will be provided, but please feel free to bring a trowel along. The days will be run from around 10 – 4 but if you can only spare a lunch break to come along, please do still join. I hope to see you there!