Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor)  

November 2024

Nature Notes Vineyard Wild Flower Project

If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world’s ecosystems would collapse.’

-Sir David Attenborough

As well as producing award-winning wine for humans, Denbies are also committed to finding opportunities to promote a healthy environment across their 265-acre estate, and for some years now a few areas have been set aside from cultivation to allow wildflowers to grow naturally and be a habitat for insects and other wildlife.

This year Denbies have taken this one step further, and October 17 saw the start of a new initiative for Nature in the Vineyard. In partnership with the charity Buglife and the Peoples Postcode Lottery funded Space4Nature project,  yellow rattle seeds have been sown in dedicated areas of the vineyard.

Yellow rattle has always been a valued component in traditional wildflower and hay meadows as it is a vital agent in promoting diversity of species. This semi-parasitic plant, a newcomer to the vineyard, acts to weaken the dominant grasses by taking some nutrients from their roots.  Where grasses are less dominant, other wildflowers have a better chance of growing, thus leading to diversity. Not only is the resulting wildflower meadow beautiful to human eyes, but it is also vital habitat for birds and butterflies and all invertebrates; and if hay is taken, mixed with the grasses the herbs, which contain important minerals such as tannins, can provide a more nutritious fodder for farm animals in winter. Wild flowers enhance the value of any grassland by an incalculable percentage:  definitely a win-win situation.

Wild Flowers in the Vineyard

Louis Harrington- Edmans. Space4Nature Conservation Officer sowing yellow rattle seed. 

It is always delightful to see a wildflower meadow full of different-coloured flowers, but diversity is more than just flowers. Each meadow is its own ecosystem. Just as “No man is an island,” so no species can exist on its own.  In every ecosystem, different (diverse) life-forms are interconnected and support each other.  Below the soil, an army of unseen invertebrates break down and recycle discarded matter, while a network of fungal partners connect and supply the life-sustaining nutrients to plants and trees. Above ground, butterflies, insects and birds feed on the flowers that are produced, and on their seeds. Diversity of plants is particularly important as many insects such as butterflies are specialist feeders: peacock butterflies, for example, choose to lay their eggs on the undersides of stinging nettle leaves, while the larvae of the small blue butterfly can feed only on the budding flowers of the kidney vetch. The greater variety of plants, the greater number of invertebrate species can be supported.

Denbies Vineyard is a fascinating mix of different types of habitat, and has always been home to a wide variety of wild flowers and the wildlife that depends on them. Many quick-growers such as clover flourish through frequent cutting, and thrive on the vineyard’s regular mowing regime, but these new wildflower areas, being mowed only once a year, will give slower-growing plants, such as wild orchids, a chance to complete their life cycle, with maximum opportunity for insects to pollinate and nectar on them, and for birds to feed on their seeds.

So watch this space – a new Space for Nature  –  as this exciting new venture is now in the hands of Nature, we look forward to seeing what will blossom along with the yellow rattle over the coming years!

Jenny Desoutter