Just a grassy verge

Doesn’t look much does it?  Which is part of the problem.  Most people pass miles of roadside verges every day and never give them a second glance, or a second’s thought.  Many simply dismiss them as untidy grassy edges to the highway.  Some complain that they are a nuisance and they obscure sight-lines.  Many local councils (though not as many as once did) keep them cut short for fear of them making the borough look untidy.
 
As I walked up to the village shop this morning I had a good look at the verge opposite my house, and was struck by the sheer number of species contained in just a very short length of it.  So I went out with MrsK to identify them.  I’m sure we will have missed some, and there was one we couldn’t identify – it isn’t in flower yet and we’re sure we’ll know it when it comes out.  This is what we found:
 
Meadow buttercup, Red clover, Pignut, Ribwort plantain, Sorrel, Germander speedwell, Thyme leaved speedwell, Dog’s mercury, Chickweed, Cow parsley, Hogweed, Birdsfoot trefoil, Bramble, Hawthorn, Crosswort, Stinging nettle, Lesser stitchwort, Daisy, Bush vetch, Creeping thistle, and six or more varieties of grass, which are beyond our knowledge.
 
Beyond that all of these flowers and plants provide food and habitat for wildlife, from microbes all the way up the food-chain via springtails, flies and crawling insects, spiders, slugs and snails, worms and woodlice, to birds and mammals.  Indeed whilst we were out identifying there was a constant chatter of the tree sparrows and finches nesting in the hedgerow, and evidence of moles and rabbits on the ground.  The undergrowth hides mice and voles that are hunted by our resident tawny owls and kestrels.
 
Fortunately blippers, being eagle-eyed and ever on the lookout for photo opportunities, don’t miss things like that.