Spring flora of churchyards: Llanfoist, Abergavenny.

Nipped into this churchyard while waiting to pick up my son from his friend. Not visited this site before so was instantly struck by its different feel when compared to the churchyards in the valleys. The vegetation was uncut allowing plants such as cow parsley to thrive. There were, as with many public sites, a good population of Spanish bluebell some complete with bluebell rust. All in all a very pleasing churchyard that's certainly due another visit

 

Spring flora of churchyards: Llanfihangel Pontymoel

Having visited this churchyard many times over the years, I'm reasonable familiar with its flora. However, I sense a decline in its value that's evident through the felling of a couple of mature trees and an a gradual extension to a more uniform grassland sward.

As with most churchyards at this time of year there are many native and cultivar primroses. A small watercourse that runs through part of the site is flanked by ancient woodland indicator plants, such as dogs mercury, wood anemone and ramsons. The native bluebells that carpet part of the churchyard have yet to come into flower, but the increasingly widespread Spanish variety is now showing well. I've only found Solomen's seal in this churchyard, but I've yet to determine if this specimen is native or a garden hybrid. Troublingly there's also a patch of Japanese knotweed.

In terms of birds a couple of goldcrest moved between several yew trees, a chiffchaff called from just beyond the churchyard with a blackcap in the distance.

Spring flora of churchyards: Llanfrechfa

Despite having no affinity to religion, churchyards are go to locations for me. For a naturalist they are often a refuge for nature squeezed from the surrounding landscape by creeping urbanisation and intensive agriculture. Spring can be a good time to visit as many churchyards are clad with the colour of early flowering ground flora, and early enough to beat the first  'tidiness' cut of busy parishioners. These islands of semi- naturalness dovetail native plants with naturalised cultivar varieties making biological recording both exciting and challenging.

This churchyard overlooks the sheep grazed fields of Ponthir and the animal sanctuary of All Creatures  Great and Small. The green space itself wraps around a large imposing church, and, like many churchyards has an old more species rich burial area that's juxtaposed with intensively managed contemporary burial plots.

The treescape is dominated by a number of mature beech trees. There is the obligatory yew tree, along with Irish yew, cherry laurel and a few conifers. On entering wood forget-me-not and greater celandine has taken hold at the base of the boundary stone wall, and the colour of a carpet of lesser celandine and primroses is impressive but weakens as it progresses towards the modern day burial area. On closer inspection, and as expected within the abundant flowering primroses, there are a variety of colour and shapes. Here too, a chiffchaff could be heard singing in the distance with greenfinch closer by. 

 

To accompany the novelty primroses there are flowering grape hyacinth and Spanish bluebell. A detailed more forensic examination of the sward revealed several vetch species, dog and early dog violets, pignut, herb robert, red dead nettle, wood anemone and creeping cinquefoil.