Lagoon life flourishes despite the storms

The Lagoon has been topped up by the increasingly wet weather and on Sunday was around 60cm (two feet) deep in much of the water area. The force of the water gushing from the drain knocked over some of the Bulrushes (see pic) and the flushed sediment is building up, creating a shallow mudbank at this end of the pool.
The plants on the Lagoon meadow continue to flourish – although many are producing berries or seed – and there's even a clump of Kidney Vetch still in flower.

Veronica Beccabunga may sound like an Italian politician's playmate, but is better known as the perfectly respectable Brook Lime, a wildlife-friendly marsh lover now making a home near the Bulrush end.

While engaged in the soothing, if impossible, task of scooping up duckweed, it became clear that we will need to reduce the clump of Bulrush before next year, together with a little selective weeding along the banks, particularly the Buddleia that is putting down its long roots in several places.
Graham Kenward

Female Speckled Bush Cricket

Water cannon: the storm drain's effect on the Bulrushes

Brook Lime (Veronica beccabunga) near Bulrushes

Kidney Vetch

Scentless Mayweed

Great Willowherb

Evening Primrose

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Easily confused – both highly poisonous

Black Bryony

Woody Nightshade

Pics by Graham Kenward. Click on pics to enlarge.