Boundary House Fen - Saturday 13th September 2025

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 Blog by Eleanor, photos by Eleanor, Sally and Julio.

There were two tasks at Frilford Golf course, where Boundary House Fen is located. The main one, under the direction of Rod, was to scythe reeds on the fen and rake them into heaps the second, requiring only two helpers, was to go with Judy Webb to an area on the edge of the golf course and clear an around some maiden pinks, which she is hoping to establish there   -   more on this later.

The rest of the group made their way down to the fen to meet Rod.

Briefing from Rod




Two of the scythers were asked to cut the hemp agrimony behind the holly and down to the leat (open watercourse). The other 3 scythers were asked to cut along the leat, avoiding large patches of marsh lousewort.


The fen before












The team working





Julio and Rebecca raking





A big heap




Tea break





Towards the end of tea break, the maiden pink party joined the main group to help with the fen work.

After photo



We found quite a lot of thistle galls. These are made by the larvae of the thistle gall fly, which burrow into the stems of creeping thistle.

Thistle gall




Holly, with berries already




At 12.30, we hurried back to the car park under a threatening looking sky. The promised rain was coming, with thunder in the distance. We had been really lucky with the weather.

Now, back to the maiden pinks, from the dianthus family. This is the only place in Oxfordshire that they grow. The sandy soil of the golf course is ideal for them, and Judy is hoping they will spread, so, of course, it is necessary to remove the surrounding brambles.

Maiden pinks in a pot



Maiden pinks in situ





Judy tending her maiden pinks




Lesley uprooting brambles

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