July is a vibrant time in the wood. The grassy rides are abundant with butterflies fluttering from plant to plant as they source their desired nectar. Silver-washed fritillaries swoop past at speed, tantalising those determined to catch them on camera.

Marbled white butterflies take a slower steadier flight path, stopping to pose on the contrasting purple flowers of knapweed and thistle, allowing many an amateur photographer to catch a snap.rve near you

’Tis the season for grass cutting in Finemere Wood. Volunteers gather with brushcutters and scythes, to clear back grass along the paths and rides. The flowering period is over for many species and this annual cut ensures that dominant varieties are kept in check allowing the more delicate plants a chance to thrive.

Long Close Meadow, the ancient meadow in the heart of the wood, is abundant with later flowering species, and thus the woodland workers will not be let loose here quite yet. Each year it is more beautiful than the last.

In July it is striking: scrambling clumps of tufted vetch with a mass of purple flowers sprawl across the grassland; a jumble of lady’s bedstraw with a profusion of tiny yellow flowers jostle across the pasture and beautific betony boundlessly extends across the expanse of sward.

Betony (Stachys officinalis) with its purple-red lipped flowers is a stunner and is ever more bountiful in the meadow. It is a member of the dead nettle family and a rich source of nectar for many butterflies, moths, bees and for the solitary wool carder bee in particular.

Betony has been used for numerous medicinal purposes over the centuries, from aiding digestion and circulation to alleviating depression and anxiety. In some cultures betony was believed to protect against evil spirits and was planted in graveyards to ward off ghosts.

The volunteers avoid these splendours as they wield their cutting tools. In the humid heat they clear the way through the wood making space for delicate flowers and walkers too. Raking follows, and the grass is piled off the tracks creating homes for grass snakes, toads, beetles, and many more creatures. 

It has been a good day’s work, but there is much more grass to be cut and the woodland workers will be back in a couple of weeks to carry on where they left off.

More than 1,700 volunteers help us towards our vision of more nature everywhere, on our nature reserves, at our visitor and education centres, in our offices and more.

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