This year, the mini wildflower meadows we dug out at work have been absolutely stunning.
I remember 4 - or was it 5? - years ago when we laboriously excavated the turf to expose the soil beneath, it was so backbreaking. We bought huge bags of wildflower seed from a farm near here, sowed them, watered them..
...and watched as nothing happened other than a few green shoots emerged.
The year after that a few birds foot trefoil appeared, but nothing more than that.
Last year, we had really good emergences of trefoil, but I didn't see much of it because of furlough.
This year though, wow. We have got thick carpets of trefoil, buttercup and ox eye dasiy, with plenty of vetch, plantain and now some red clover thrown in. The bees, especially common carder and red tailed bumbles, are loving it.
I feel very proud of what I instigated and helped make.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 09.06.21
Quite what seed gets up to once under the soil is a mystery. I was brought up on a farm where, every year just as wildflowers would have been about to bloom, we turned out pigs on to that field. They promptly reduced everything to a muddy mess. One year the pigs didn't get turned out and the whole place burst into flower.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I did wildflower development on a big chunk of of my neighbour's neglected allotment one year and got ....nothing.... I blamed the seed mix, although I guess it could have been a number of things, but grass had been growing there beforehand, and there were fruit trees in it that looked healthy (enough). You have done really there.
ReplyDeleteRightly so you should be proud Si! A super 'Wildflower Meadow'!
ReplyDeleteYes Si, they do seem to take a few years to get firmly established. This year yours looks absolutely wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much all, I will be so sad when it fades
ReplyDeleteWell worth all that hard work. Well done to all involved.
ReplyDeleteThat's fabulous, it just shows a gardener has to be patient!
ReplyDeletewow, that's stunning, hope it's attracting lots of bees and hoverflies too
ReplyDelete