If you eagerly open your Listing and head straight to this update, then our news of the Pasque Flowers may be perfectly timed!
For much of the year, the banks of Church Hill appear unremarkable. But for a couple of weeks in late March/early April, they spring into life with their yearly display of pasque flowers (Scientific name: Pulsatilla vulgaris).
Pasque flowers (Easter flowers) are now incredibly rare; listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on some British lists and ‘Near Threatened’ on an international database. The vast majority of pasque flowers (99%) can now be found on only five sites across the UK, with Therfield Heath boasting one of the largest colonies, with up to 60,000 plants.
This hardy plant, with distinctive purple flowers and golden stamens, loves sun-soaked, well-drained, chalk or limestone grassland, and doesn’t deal well with disturbance. WWII saw much local land ploughed to provide food (including many parts of Therfield Heath); however, Church Hill, the site of the most impressive pasque flower blooms, was too steep to plough. So, throughout the War, it remained undisturbed. Please visit and take photos, but otherwise leave it undisturbed.
Also looking to be left ‘undisturbed’ are our ground nesting birds. If you have a dog (particularly those with any hunting instinct), please keep it on a short lead. Once a nesting bird has been scared off, it may never return to the nest and the precious eggs will fail.
For those looking for an Easter activity, perhaps try the Friends of Therfield Heath Easter Egg hunt on Sunday 13th April.
