Common spotted and pyramidal orchids, kidney vetch, agrimony, scabious, hawkbits and more all flourish through the summer months and there are ant hills aplenty. The glade is grazed by ponies most of the year and during the winter it is cut by a tractor. All the cut vegetation  is removed from site to prevent nutrient build up and this process is vital in helping all the wildflowers to grow side by side.

Unlike lots of other chalk grassland meadows, the main problem plant is not bramble or thorny scrub but dogwood, a native fast-growing woody shrub. Dogwood produces flowers and berries but also loves to spread outwards in dense patches by sending out underground suckers, like blackthorn. The ponies will nibble on new growth during the growing season but that’s about it because the main bulk of the shrub is hard stemmed and woody so it is not very appealing to them! Dogwood’s broad leaves and tightly packed stems can shade out smaller chalk grassland specialist plants, and if left undisturbed, dogwood can grow into trees up to 10 metres tall. Cutting and collecting it in the winter does help keep it under control in terms of growing upwards but during the summer it still re-grows quickly and continues to spread outwards.

Last summer, staff at Luton Borough Council trialled a mid-summer cut of dense patches of dogwood within the glade using traditional scything methods to cut through the stems. In the trial areas, dogwood had regrown less vigorously and this summer, staff and volunteers at the Wildlife Trust have joined in on cutting and raking up the dogwood within the glade to try and weaken its hold further. With the help of dedicated local volunteers, three brush cutters, several packets of biscuits and some half-melted ice lollies, we cleared the glade of the worst areas. We hope that by adding this to the regular yearly volunteer task schedule, we can keep on top of the dogwood growth and continue to improve the quality of this fantastic grassland.