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Blunts Lane Allotments - Plymouth (image)
Grid Ref: SX 503 592
Sadly this is a private site and access to the general public isn't permitted. The site is run by
Plymouth City Council and contains approx. 60 allotments, in varying degrees of cultivation. I say varying degrees for on some, wildflowers wouldn't stand a chance, either succumbing to regular hoeing, or being out competed by roots of Common Couch (Elytrigia repens), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.), Docks (Rumex sp.), Greater Bindweed (Calystegia silvatica) or Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.), but there are some allotments which are tended irregularly where wildflowers can be seen to thrive.
Some of the wildflowers that occur here are considered arable weeds, once common in cornfields, in the days before spraying and intensive cropping, many of which, are now in decline.
Such annuals include Field Woundwort (Stachys arvensis), Field Madder (Sherardia arvensis), Cut-leaf Deadnettle (Lamium x hybridum), Weasel's-snout (Misopates orontium), Red Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum), Corn Spurrey (Spergula arvensis), Musk Mallow (Malva moschata),
Black Bindweed (Fallopia convolvulus), Sharp-leaved Fluellen (Kickxia elatine) and
Field Poppy (Papaver rhoeas).
Because the soil is continually cultivated and watered, alien annuals often appear and these include Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum), Spring Beauty (Claytonia perfoliata), The Apple of Peru (Nicandra physaloides) and the nationally rare Prostrate Toadflax (Linaria supina).
Of course it wouldn't be an allotment without ''weeds'' and the blue and white flowers of
Speedwell are found everywhere on site; Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys),
Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia), Round-leaved Speedwell (Veronica filiformis), Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica) and Wall Speedwell (Veronica arvensis). Other weeds found across the site include, Pineapple Weed (Matricaria discoidea), Cut-leaved Crane's-bill (Geranium dissectum), Lesser Yellow Trefoil (Trifolium dubium), Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolatum), Common Chickweed (Stellaria media),
Sticky Mouse-ear Chickweed (Cerastium glomeratum), Red Campion (Silene dioica),
Lamb's Lettuce or Corn Salad (Valerianella locusta), Common Knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare) and Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica).
Apart from wildflowers, the site is also important for wildlife, as swallows by day, and bats by night catch moths and insects as they fly over the area. Rats and mice are taken by buzzards who live within the nearby Bircham Valley Nature Reserve and Roe Deer are regularly seen outside the fence. Other frequently seen animals include Badgers (paw-print), and a multitude of bird
species, including Tawny Owls, Pheasants, Woodpeckers, Tits and Finches. Robins have even been known to nest in plant pots on the site.
Allotments are of course of increasing importance, often huge botanical reservoirs within an
urban environment, but rather sadly these days too many allotments are being mis-managed and so the land they're on can be turned into building land.
Within cities, political policy, horticultural practices and so called 'environmental' concerns often leave areas ''too'' sterile for wildlife to flourish, but most allotments thankfully provide a slightly unkempt environment where wildflowers and wildlife can flourish. The wildlife an allotment can contain is perhaps one of the best reasons why allotments and allotmenteering should be kept and encouraged.
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