Recently I was going through some old issues of my RSPB members’ magazine and came across a letter from someone in Darlington, titled “Are back lanes the hedgerows of a town?” He’d noted more than 40 different species of plants, a mix of garden escapees and what he called “wasteland natives” in the cobbled lanes behind streets of terraced houses. I found this really interesting.
If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know that, where I live, we have alleys behind terraced houses, and I ‘look after’ the ones nearest me (they’re unadopted, so the city council generally doesn’t touch them). So, after reading this letter a few weeks ago, I went to see how many flowers we’d got. The picture below was taken on 6 May, and I identified 9 species (with the help of the Seek app!). On the right-hand side: Common Cat’s Ear, Common Columbine, Hedge Mustard, Forget-me-Not, Herb Robert, Bishop’s Weed, Purple Toadflax and Foxglove. On the left, less visible, Common Knapweed, so there’s a close up below. Stunning, isn’t it?
I took a second photo of the left side a week later, when more Common Knapweed were in flower, along with Purple Toadflax.
I’m sure there are more than 9 species, but I don’t monitor at different times of year. I’m trying to record it now though, as I hope to be moving house soon, so this won’t be on my doorstep. There will still be alleys, however, so I’m looking forward to seeing what is growing – and hopefully convincing my neighbours that this is a good thing.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve got ‘alley hedgerows’ in your area.
Dandelion Nature 