August 2025

This month I visited the ecological restoration site at Mardale Mountain Meadow, Haweswater, with the rest of the month dedicated to the lengthy task of repotting the extensive bulb collection at RBGE.  

The past month, before diving into my Haweswater notes, I’ve been getting stuck into the repotting marathon at RBGE, carefully handling a fantastic and quite extensive collection of bulbs and corms. In action, it means gently lifting each bulb, brushing off excess soil, each bulb was then carefully inspected, checking the basal plate and tunics for any signs of basal plate rot (Fusarium oxysporum), the telltale lesions of Botrytis species, or the streaking and distortion that can indicate underlying viral infections. Bulbs are then placed into a well-draining growing mix, and then arranged in appropriately sized pots, working with substrate tailored to their needs, coarse grit for alpines or standard ericaceous mix for woodland species. The range of beds, frames, and their orientation in the nursery, are used as adaptations for microenvironments and habitat mimicry to ease them into their new homes.  

Leaving Scotland behind for the week I headed South to join the Harlow Carr team who were joining me on my trip across to the Lake District, there I was to meet the team who run the Mardale Mountain Meadow project and learn about the successes of their restoration project they have installed near Haweswater.  

Back in 2017 the Mardale Mountain Meadow project was set in motion, a dynamic collaboration between the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Alpine Garden Society (AGS), United Utilities, and Natural England. Tucked away in the fells above Haweswater, its aim is to bring back a rich tapestry of native alpine plants to a landscape that had lost much of its diversity. The restoration area is no small patch either, roughly 72 acres which is about the size of 42 football pitches, a sizeable corner of upland consisting of streams, scree slope and crags, plantation woodland, grassland and bogs, all being given the chance to rewild itself into something closer to its former glory. 

The heart of the project is the nursery, which has quietly grown into one of the largest of its kind in the Lake District. Here, the team raise thousands of native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers every year for planting back into the surrounding fells. Propagation begins with locally collected seed, which is cleaned, sorted, and subjected to cold stratification or other pre-treatments to break dormancy before being sown into raised beds and protected growing frames. Cuttings are also taken from species that don’t seed reliably, while tough montane plants are grown on in gravel beds. Funding from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund allowed the nursery to expand significantly in recent years: new raised beds were built, polytunnels erected, and a full-time nursery officer brought in to scale up production. From what I saw, this investment has paid off handsomely. The nursery also acts as a genetic reservoir, safeguarding locally adapted ecotypes and allowing the team to propagate rarer species for reintroduction.  

Inside the fenced enclosure, the change is significant. With grazing pressure lifted, the translocated plants have made considerable advances at reclaiming the ground with widespread self-seeding taking place. Saxifraga hypnoides, Oxyria digyna, Sedum rosea, Luzula sylvatica, Alchemilla glabra, and Geranium sylvaticum have now inserted themselves across the rocky slopes, spreading naturally where once they were suppressed. In the wetter flushes, splashes of Narthecium ossifragum and Dactylorhiza maculata seed heads stand out among soft moss hummocks. Succisa pratensis is an important species for wet meadows and upland grasslands, and especially valuable because it’s the main larval foodplant of the marsh fritillary butterfly (Euphydryas aurinia), which is a priority species for conservation in the UK. Around all of these, young Sorbus aucuparia, Crataegus monogyna, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, Salix aurita, Salix lapponum, Betula pubescens, Betula pendula, and Juniperus communis have been planted to kickstart recovery, which are thriving, with self-sown seedlings appearing more each season. Even the mountain itself lends a hand with the occasional rockfalls and landslides to expose raw patches of soil and scree, perfect new footholds for colonising alpine species, which is where we found the only surviving and thriving Vaccinium vitis-idaea. 

Among the most exciting highlights in the meadow’s recovery has been the careful return of plants once teetering on the edge of disappearing from England altogether, such as the Ajuga pyramidalis, the pyramidal bugle, which is thought to be the country’s rarest mountain flower. Collected from its precarious cliffside habitat and safeguarded in cultivation, its offspring were planted here in 2019. Against the odds, every one survived, and some now flower prolifically, standing as small but significant beacons of hope for montane flora. Alongside them, Salix lapponum, the downy willow has been reintroduced. Once reduced to a few female shrubs clinging to the Helvellyn massif, cuttings from Helvellyn and Dumfries & Galloway were propagated and around a hundred young plants have now taken root in Mardale. I may catch a glimpse on my next visit.  

To protect the exclosure and extend recovery across the wider fell, a new fence was installed in 2021, stretching from the alpine plots up to the top of Harter Fell. This blocked the long standing ingress of sheep from Kentmere Common and enabled the RSPB to take sheep off around 950 hectares of Mardale Common. In their place, a lighter, more wildlife friendly regime of cattle grazing has been introduced. The team now use virtual fencing technology to manage these herds: GPS collars create invisible boundaries that can be drawn or shifted from a computer or mobile app. The collars give cattle an audio warning, followed by a mild pulse if they step too far, quickly teaching them to stay within the designated grazing block. This flexibility means livestock can be moved seamlessly between pastures without erecting physical fences, reducing landscape fragmentation and giving plants and wildlife more freedom to spread. 

Since I was already in the Lakes, I couldn’t leave without stopping by to visit a fellow AGS trainee Bertie, who is now Head Gardener at Sizergh Gardens and Estate. I was treated to a tour of the grounds, complete with a fascinating walkthrough of the projects he’s already brought to life and his ambitious plans for the future. It was especially exciting to hear about his vision for the alpine garden and rock garden areas, which are set to become real highlights of the estate. 

Another great month of learning complete. With so many paths opening up once I finish my traineeship, I’ve often felt pulled in different directions and overwhelmed with options. But after my time with the RBGE Scottish Natives team, and now working alongside the Mardale team, I came away genuinely inspired and excited for the future, with a much clearer sense of where I want to steer my career. Now all that’s left is to hope the perfect job is waiting for me next year at the finish line!