Ashlawn in Bloom – May 2020

The earlier spring flowering plants are still mostly in full bloom. A few examples are in the pictures.

One key plant is the Kidney Vetch. This is the sole food plant for the larvae of the Small Blue Butterfly. This butterfly is not present in the cutting. There is a project being run by Butterfly Conservation to return the Small Blue to a wider Warwickshire by creating suitable habitats within range of each other. Ashlawn can play a part in the future. We will have to work on improving the spread of Kidney Vetch within the most suitable parts of the reserve. Unfortunately, Kidney Vetch requires human intervention to maintain its place. Uou can read more about the Butterfly Conservation project here.

As much as the almost continuous sunshine is great for viewing the cutting we do desperately require some meaningful rainfall to keep the site in good order through the coming summer season.