A couple of weeks ago I wandered through St Cadocs churchyard in Caerleon. A nice churchyard that fits the now characteristic model of mature trees, including some nice veteran beech trees, and closely mowed grass. There were however some interesting wild flowers but these were marginalised, largely restricted to the edges, where the mower cannot reach.
Some of the unweeded, aged graves were crammed with red valerian a few displaying the leaf roll gall of the now spreading valerian psyllid Trioza centranthus. Widespread around the graves and the bases of trees was stinking iris. I suggest this has been introduced to this churchyard and is now doing very well as a result. I don't record caper spurge that often so it was pleasing to see one tall individual that has escaped the parishioners mower. It was pleasing to see a colony of honey bees in residence in the church and were clearly being tolerated, when once the services of a pest control specialist would have been deployed.
