Some of you may have been taking a stroll around the Rec recently and thinking that maybe it's looking a wee bit untidy in parts. Why is there a small patch of nettles growing in the corner of the garden area, hops and wildflowers at the base of the fencing? And as for the state of the small parking area.....weeds, weeds and yet more weeds!!

I've spoken before as one of the generation that remembers the orderly municipal flower beds, carefully planted with colourful annuals at the start of each season. Neat rose beds were also a favourite and the grass was carefully tended to the extent that, if a daisy or dandelion dared to poke its head above the ground, it was quickly terminated!

Attractive in its own way maybe, but very high maintenance and environmentally damaging. Annual bedding plants are produced in vast quantities every year, using a phenomenal amount of energy, quantities of peat (whose use is finally being banned by 2026) and many chemicals such as insecticides, fungicides, fertilisers. And all those plastic pots!! The plants are often bred to have abnormally large, multi-petalled flowers, which are sterile, specifically to avoid cross pollination. They may look good to us perhaps, but are of absolutely no use to insects. And the sad thing is that many of them are thrown away each year, having never had sight of a garden or window box. I'm sure like me, you've come across trolley loads of dead and dying plants at supermarkets destined for the skip

So, working alongside the council, we've adopted a different approach at the Rec. One which accords slightly more with the times, and helps towards the aim of achieving greater biodiversity and wildlife corridors throughout the city. This approach requires a slightly more relaxed attitude to weeds.....or native flora as some people may prefer to call them!

The car park fringe

The council agreed to stop spraying the base of the fencing around the central area, as a trial, about 4 years ago. Previously, they used glyphosate, to kill the grass where the mower couldn't get close enough to the fence This left a bleached strip where nothing grew. Nature has now moved back in; the grass has grown, and flowers have seeded, including a very attractive a hop that has appeared, presumably courtesy of a bird. This humble strip of slightly unkempt grass provides a wildlife corridor around the park and refuge for insects of all kinds. Also, and as the grass dies back, it leaves ideal material for nesting birds. One of the insects found hanging out amongst the hops, was this Southern bush cricket

As for the nettles, most of us wouldn't welcome them into our gardens. They don't look particularly attractive and their sting can cause a nasty rash, but to the caterpillars of many moths and butterflies they are a buffet bonanza. They're the food plant of caterpillars of Red admiral, Small tortoiseshell, Painted lady and Comma butterflies as well as a number of moths such as Mother of pearl and Burnished brass. The butterflies need nettles growing in full sunlight and preferably close to a source of nectar for the adults. We know that all these species of butterfly have been seen at the Rec and this is an experiment to try to increase their numbers. We're very aware that we will need to control the spread of the nettles and cut them regularly to provide fresh new growth. We'll monitor the situation, but hope for lots of caterpillars happily munching their way through them next year!

A Comma butterfly warming itself on the bark mulch

The edges around the car park have been left uncut by the council at our request and not out of negligence! It's a mini jungle, and every bit as dangerous for the creatures living there Get close and focus in to see hunting nursery web spiders, hoverflies, beetles and the occasional grasshopper. This one was photographed there last year. Butterflies also benefit from longer grass as many use this habitat in which to lay their eggs. OK not everyone's idea of a Des Res, but I guess you could say that beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder!

A Common field grasshopper in the growth around the car park

The female Southern oak bush cricket

Finally you may have noticed that the meadow has been scythed, which is an essential part of the management regime. However, the bank at the back has been left uncut to provide cover for overwintering insects. It will be brought under control next spring.

The meadow before scything

I hope that our efforts to help the wildlife don't detract from the enjoyment of our human visitors.......they might even add to it. Our insects are in catastrophic decline, and that's very bad news for all of us. We rely on them to provide the very basic services that the planet and its ecosystems, needs to survive. No insects and our future would be very bleak indeed.

So lets all embrace a bit of messiness, a little chaos here and there, let's welcome a weed ........it's a small price to pay and who knows what might turn up!!

Denise Long

Friends of Portswood Rec, Southampton, UK