The Quaker Burial Ground at Shortwood has existed since 1695 and is still in use
today. In 2016 an ecological survey was commissioned by Nailsworth Quakers and
the decision was taken to maintain it as a semi wild environment with limited hay cut
and control of excessive shrub and tree growth. In more recent years a few of the
ash trees round the field edge have had to be taken down due to ash dieback. One
issue has been that the burial ground has become dominated by tough grasses and
meadow sweet, a plant of damp ground.
In order to increase the diversity of wild flowers the assistance of the National Trust has been sought and we have obtained from them a wild flower seed mix with a substantial proportion of yellow rattle. Yellow rattle is semi-parasitic on strong grasses and eventually weakens them allowing other wild flowers to grow thus increasing diversity. For this to happen the meadow sweet has to be removed and some bare patches of soil created to allow the yellow rattle and other seeds to take hold. Controlling the meadow sweet will likely be an ongoing
process and the establishment of the yellow rattle and other flowers can take time. The key is cutting and removal of the hay, an ongoing process. Mown paths are used to provide access and also contrast to the wild areas, and yellow rattle quite favours the path edge to establish itself. We are hopeful the seeding will be successful but are
told patience is also needed.