August update: Town Council Officers Paul and Abi were at Osbourne Road watering the cherry trees and checking the project’s progress, which is part of Abi’s management of the ground.
Abi was pleased to see the meadow is in its next stage of life, seeds!
It’s important we let the flowers turn to seed after each year of flowering as it guarantees more beautiful blooms next year!
We allow as many seeds to drop as possible before cutting the meadow back. When we do the cut back, we allow the cuttings to sit on the ground for a few days to allow any last seeds to fall before we collect the cuttings and take them away from the site.
We have plans for further maintenance on the land over the autumn/winter, however usually wildflower meadows will only need 1 more cut back in the early spring after the cut back in late summer/autumn. They are pretty low maintenance.
Questions we’ve seen on social media about the project-
Are you still watering the trees?
Yes, we try to water them once a week and more when it’s really hot.
Why are the flowers different this year, and why isn’t it as colourful as Culmers meadow?
It may appear like there is less variety this year, however it’s more the case that there are just different varieties from last year’s selection. Last year was our first year of planting so we had the full impact of the annual seeds that were in the seed mix. This year you will notice more of the perennials that were in the mix and some other native plants that have seeded themselves too, although there might not be the full impact of the flowers we had last year, these new varieties are still offering habitat and food for the pollinators in the area. Culmers is in its first year, so may look more like this next year too.
Why don’t we leave the cuttings on the ground?
Wildflower meadows like low nutrient ground, so to keep the ground wildflower friendly it’s best to avoid compost or any vegetation changing the soil.
See the last pictures for comparison of June flowering and now!
