Well I was in for a surprise when I cycled up for my monthly look at the vegetation on the newly colonised ground by Quarrington Quarry on Sunday – the whole area has been mowed, to within an inch of its life.  May’s mass of Dame’s violet, Charlock, thistles and Fumitory has been replaced by an arid-looking, grassy plain.

A careful hunt revealed there are, of course, plants in flower which have survived the cut – tiny Charlock and Scarlet pimpernel and Creeping buttercups, as well as some larger plants such as Sow thistle, Welted thistle, Weld and Rough chervil which are doing their best, despite having been knocked flat.  Unsurprisingly, there are more of these larger plants around the margins of the mown area.

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Left; Scarlet pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis: Right; Weld, Reseda luteola

As last month, there are more species in flower on the older spoil, which has remained undisturbed for many years.

		Disturbed ground	‘Original’ vegetation on older spoil
Creeping buttercup	Ranunculus repens	p
Slender St John’s-wort	Hypericum pulchrum		p
Dame’s violet	Hesperis matronalis	p
Charlock	Sinapis arvensis	p
Weld	Reseda luteola	p
Scarlet pimpernel	Anagallis arvensis	p
Dog rose	Rosa canina		p
Blackberry	Rubus fruticosus agg.		p
Bird’s-foot-trefoil	Lotus corniculatus		p
Black medick	Medicago lupulinus		p
Zigzag clover	Trifolium medium		p
Red clover	Trifolium pratense		p
Bush vetch	Vicia sepium		p
American willowherb	Epilobium ciliatum		p
Rough chervil	Chaerophyllum temulum	p
Eyebright	Euphrasia sp.		p
Germander speedwell	Veronica chamaedrys		p
Crosswort	Cruciata laevipes		p
Welted thistle	Carduus crispus	p
Marsh hawk’s beard	Crepis paludosa		p
Hawkweed	Hieracium agg.		p
Cat’s-ear	Hypochaeris radicata		p
Common ragwort	Jacobaea vulgaris		p
Mouse-ear hawkweed	Pilosella officinarum		p
Prickly sow-thistle	Sonchus asper		p
Smooth Sow-thistle	Sonchus oleraceus	p
Common spotted-orchid	Dactylorhiza fuchsia		p
Northern marsh-orchid	Dactylorhiza purpurella		p
Quaking grass	Briza maxima		p
Spring sedge	Carex caryophyllea		p
Tufted hair-grass	Deschampsia cespitosa		p
Red fescue	Festuca rubra		p
Yorkshire fog	Holcus lanatus		p

At first glance, the yellow Bird’s-foot trefoil and Hawkweeds still have it but on closer inspection I find several new species in flower; Slender St John’s wort, Common-spotted orchids, Ragwort, Black medick and several grasses, which I am more confident about identifying after a day learning with Steve Gater from Durham Wildlife trust.  The dog roses are flowering too.

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Top: Diverse vegetation on thin limestone soil of old spoil material Bottom, left to right: Common-spotted orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii;  Slender St John’s-wort, Hypericum pulchrum; Tufted hair-grass, Deschampsia cespitosa

The edge of this ground too, particularly adjacent to the woodland at the top of the hill, has taller, more lush vegetation.  Greater knapweed, Crosswort and Northern marsh-orchids flourish in the damp soil and partial shade.

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Left: Greater knapweed, Centaurea scabiosa; Right: Crosswort, Cruciata laevipes

Although it was a shock to find the newly-vegetated ground mowed this week, seemingly flying in the face of the current trend to mow less and encourage biodiversity in grassland and road verges, it may be a good thing here.  The topsoil used to cover the quarry spoil was obviously full of seeds, from its place of origin.  Cutting these plants back before they have a chance to add another generation of seeds to the soil, leaving patchily-bare ground, should allow seeds from the local area to drift in on the wind or be carried in by birds.  Some of these, at least, will be the seeds which “fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”, to use Biblical imagery.  It will be interesting to monitor this site in the longer term to see whether the more typical limestone flora of the area will be able to re-establish itself.  Sowing some semi-parasitic Yellow-rattle, Rhinanthus minor, to limit the growth of grasses might help.  Maybe I should be testing soil pH too next month to see what other factors might be at play…