The Forgotten Grasslands

How quickly nature can reclaim things that are not maintained. Like for example the grasslands within an urban landscape. In Blantyre, like all towns in the UK, many of the grassy spaces have not been cut for months due to the Covid19 pandemic which closed the country down on 23rd March 2020.

Now, nearing the end of June, just ahead of council services resuming to cut verges and their owned land, Blantyre looks forgotten, some would say neglected, the long grass giving a strange, eerie feeling over the town.

I personally, quite like some of it. Where grass has erupted into being meadows, with beautiful flowers, it looks pretty in places, but weeds within paths let the place down.

Of course, this is all about to change again. Grass soon to be cut and back to what our normal expectations for maintained verges are.

Gordon Cook sent me the photo of the different types of grass, noting it was mixed within one space, several types growing in one area. When he was cutting a sample of the different types with scissors, a neighbour shouted over to him telling him to wait and let the council cut it!

This reminded me on an ‘in house’ joke in my family. They ask what I’ll do when i finish writing about buildings and people in Blantyre and I used to reply that if i ever end up writing about the grass, then its time to stop! I’m breaking my rule today, writing about the grass though never dreamt in a million years it would be due to the UK population being asked to stay indoors! Needless to say, I’ve plenty more to write about Blantyre…and will be continuing! 😉

Meantime, the kind readers of Blantyre Telegraph have shared all these amazing photos of Blantyre in Phase 2 of the exit route map for Scotland, showing a snapshot of how Blantyre looks in the third week of June, just ahead of grass being cut again. You’ll see what i mean about meadows and it was nice to see children and pets playing in the long grass! Here’s a Covid19 snapshot in time…..June 2020.