In June 1998, Julian Woodman, the BSBI (Botanical Society of the British Isles) East Glamorgan Recorder was recording in the Clydach Vale for the Atlas 2000 project. As he scouted his way along a blind valley he came to a disused quarry, with a shallow pool. At the back of the quarry, on a series of shallow ledges amongst thin grassland and beneath the semi-shade of willow bushes he found, to his great surprise, a thriving colony of Deptford pink (Dianthus armeria). These delicate, bright pink, annual carnations were thriving in the skeletal, free-draining soil. A species, usually associated with calcareous soils, downland banks and dry roadsides, this colony was at home on its sheltered, sunny ledge in the heart of the Rhondda.

In the UK the Deptford Pink is fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and it is a vulnerable and declining species. The ledges on which Deptford Pink grow need occasional management if the plant is to flower and seed successfully. The population has been threatened in the past by lack of management leading to over growth of tress on the flowering quarry ledges. Management to remove this overgrowth took place and this experience highlighted the importance of monitoring and management for some of our most vulnerable flora and fauna.