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Read in: EnglishCymraeg
It’s been 25 years since a local campaign helped save Skylark Meadows, we look back at this positive story of people protecting nature.
This year marks 25 years since the stunning Skylark Meadows in Somerset first became a protected Plantlife nature reserve – thanks to the local community who rallied to save it.
Back in 1997, news broke that the farmer who had owned and managed the land as a traditional hay meadow was looking to retire and sell the 18-acre patch that had become a haven, not only for plant and animal wildlife, but for the local residents as well. With the future of the meadows in jeopardy, the community organised an appeal to raise the funds needed to buy it.
Donald Rayner from Bawdrip, one of the residents instrumental to saving the site, remembered the day he first realised how special the meadows were: “My friends had started without me, so I set off after them across what we now call Skylark Meadows. They were ahead, and I was alone in the fields. I heard skylarks where they simply shouldn’t be. I knew I’d come across something special.”
With a race against time on their hands, the community formed the Skylark Meadows Rescue Group. Local resident Pam Earnshaw was instrumental in heading up the campaign, hosting group meetings and working hard to raise the funds needed to secure its future.
When the appeal first launched, Bob Cornes from English Nature visited the site and was quoted as saying: “It was immediately obvious to me that this was a 50-species meadow. That puts it in the top echelon of conservation sites.”
The group had worked hard and raised a good sum, but they were still short. In 1999, they reached out to us at Plantlife and we stepped in to cover the additional costs and purchase Skylark Meadows. It has been officially protected as a nature reserve ever since.
Speaking of the success of the campaign, Donald said: “It provides a positive example of community achievement here and everywhere.”
The site is home to a range of plants, grasses and wildflowers. These include Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor, Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra, Oxeye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare, Pepper Saxifrage Silaum silaus and the hay meadow speciality Corky-fruited Water-dropwort Oenanthe pimpinelloides.
As well as the rich variety of plants, the meadows provide a habitat for animal wildlife. The skylarks from which the meadows get their name, can still be seen and heard overhead. Old hedgerows provide a safe haven for birds like whitethroats and linnets as well as mammals including badgers and foxes. Barn owls nest in the owl boxes, brown hares and roe deer have both also been spotted in the meadows.
Finally, the variety in beautiful wildflowers every year attracts an array of pollinators, in particular butterflies.
The meadows looking beautiful with a sea of yellow wildflowers
A butterfly resting on a wildflower at Skylark Meadows
One of the many visitors to Skylark Meadows
It is particularly popular with butterflies in the summer
Many of the locals who were involved in the original campaign have maintained strong connections to the site, including Donald.
“I help with the monitoring of the owl boxes with the HOT group [Hawk and Owl Trust], and try to keep the water trough clean when not in use etc,” he said.
Since taking ownership of the site, we have expanded the original two meadows by purchasing a third field to add to the nature reserve. We have been continuing to manage the whole site using traditional hay meadow methods.
Donald said: “It has increased from 18 acres to 24 acres by allowing the field to west to be obtained then managed in the same traditional hay meadow routine i.e. cut only [once a year] then grazed September to winter then left to regrow without any form of ‘artificial’ or natural growth aids. Thus protecting the needs of the meadow flora.”
Donald Rayner
The nature reserve now encompasses the original two unimproved grassland meadows that we purchased back in 1999, as well as a former silage field which we added to the reserve in 2003.
The original meadows have never had fertiliser or heavy machinery used on them and have always been maintained using traditional hay meadow methods. We have continued these methods and incorporated them into managing the third newer field as well – though it takes many years to restore meadowland.
We manage the meadows by cutting only once a year and then introducing grazing in the late summer and early autumn.
Old hedgerows of Hawthorn Crataegus and Blackthorn Prunus spinosa and lovely Crack Willow Salix fragilis trees have been managed with pollarding (cut low on the trunk to harvest regenerating branches and encourage regrowth).
For 25 years, and for the future, the meadows remain protected for the community and nature.
Donald said: “It offers all ages a chance to enjoy bird song, flowers and open land in a large landscape of natural features. Children visit from the school and the footpaths provide an opportunity for all to visit, learn and enjoy from all over the country.”
The purchase of this meadow was made possible with help from Unilever (Timotei), Somerset Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency, Sedgemoor District Council, Gerber Foods, Wyvern Environmental Trust, the Charles Hayward Trust and the community through the Skylark Meadows Rescue Group.
Visit our beautiful reserve in Somerset for the chance to see Yellow Rattle, Common Knapweed, Oxeye Daisy and Pepper Saxifrage.
Managing or making meadows, whether as part of your lawn or larger sites, can sometimes lead to a prickly problem, with plots of docks or nuisance nettles!
Problems can arise by opening the soil or when the nutrients are very high – but our experts are here to help.
While most plants have some value to wildlife, species such as Common Nettle Urtica dioica, thistles Cirsium sp and docks Rumex sp can spread rapidly in meadows or lawns with sub-optimal management and crowd out wildflowers. Small amounts of these species are natural in any grassland, especially along boundaries or corners, large amounts of them can indicate a problem.
However, large swathes of thistles or nettles will result in less space for a diversity of other flowering plants, which could result in a meadow being less valuable for wildlife. Also be aware that an area that has alot of these problem plants already, is usually best avoided altogether if attempting to make a new meadow area.
Preventing problem plants establishing in large numbers is better than a cure . It is best to:
Broad-leaved Dock Rumex obtusifolius can grow up to 120cm tall and has wide lower leaves that are slightly wavy-edged. The upper leaves on the flowering stem are narrower. The leaves may be slightly red tinged.
Curled Dock Rumex crispus is like Broad-leaved Dock but has narrower leaves tapered into the stem with strongly crisped edges. Docks are an important plant for a range of insects such as capsids, weevils, beetles, spiders and many other insects.
Spear Thistle Cirsium vulgare is a biennial plant, forming a rosette of spiny and sharply toothed leaves in the first year and producing large purple flowering heads in the second year.
Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense is perennial with wavy-toothed leaves that have slender spines and smaller purple flower heads.
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris is a biennial member of the Daisy family. Its seed germinates in the autumn producing a rosette of leaves. During the second year, the plant sends up flowering shoots which have multiple yellow flowers.
Common Ragwort is known to support more than 129 other species of invertebrates and has enormous value for wildlife. It acts as a nectar source for pollinators as well as some larvae of flies and beetles which feed on the inside of the flower head. The caterpillars of the cinnabar moth eat Common Ragwort acting as a natural biological control agent. In addition, 14 species of fungi use ragwort as their host.
Common Nettle Urtica dioica is a coarsely hairy plant with stinging hairs that have a histamine-containing juice. Plants are dioecious – male or female. It has far-creeping underground rhizomes which can spread creating large clumps of common nettle.
It is an important plant for a range of insects such as ladybirds, damselflies, capsids, weevils, beetles, and spiders. Young nettles are the food plant of many moth larvae such as the snout, dot, burnished brass and younger mother-of-pearl and butterflies such as the peacock, small tortoiseshell and comma.
Many of them have seeds that are very fertile and spread on the wind, usually dropping far away from the parent plant. A single Common Ragwort plant can produce up to 200,000 seeds, and these can lie dormant in the soil for as long as 20 years. Common Ragwort is also a problem in particular for livestock as the plant contains toxic alkaloids which act as a cumulative poison eventually destroying an animal’s liver.
Some species also have rhizomatous roots that are spreading meaning that they form dense clumps in grassland. Accidently breaking up the roots when removing certain species creates larger clumps as even small bits of root can grow into plants and can remain dormant in the soil for years. For example, Creeping Thistle can create a 20- metre patch in just two years from a small bit of root left in the ground.
Spear Thistle, Creeping Thistle, Broad-leaved Dock, Curled Dock and Common Ragwort are classified under the Weeds Act 1959, under which orders can be made requiring their control to help prevent their spread. So, controlling populations of these two species should be undertaken to manage the extent of clumps as total elimination is unlikely to be achievable or desirable.
All methods of managing problem plants need patience above all else. Most often it can take years before problem plants are brought back under control.
Essentially pulling by hand is going to be the simplest and least invasive way of managing most of them, or simply cutting the heads off the plants before they flower or set seed for others. However, if you have large numbers of plants and are unable to physically remove them, then spot-spraying can be used. We would always recommend consulting an expert for suitable and available herbicides that will affect the specified problem plants and how to apply the chemicals safely. Spraying is usually most effective early in the season (May or June) before the plants’ flowers are developed. When found along the edge of watercourses, there are additional concerns about using herbicides.
It is important to take care when digging to remove some species, as Creeping Thistle for example can spread further if fragments of roots are left in the soil, whereas digging and removing Spear Thistle is not a problem.
In a well-managed sward, Common Ragwort seldom gets the chance to establish. Pulling and digging is often the most effective control method. Hand tools can be used to make the job easier such as a ‘lazy dog tool’ and a ‘rag-fork’. Gloves must be worn! This method should be done early in the summer before the flower heads mature with best results when the soil is wet. This enables the whole plant to be removed as small bits of root left in the soil can grow becoming new plants. Roots are more likely to break in dry ground potentially creating a larger problem with a halo of new plants around the removed parent plant. Cutting can be used as a method, however it is essential to cut before seed heads are mature and this must be followed with another control technique. Cutting may stimulate the growth of side shoots and vigorous growth in the following year.
Common Nettle is usually best managed through cutting by mechanical means such as a tractor-mounted cutter, strimmer or by hand, using a scythe. This method is best used where infestations of Common Nettle are small, bird nesting is not an issue, equipment and labour are available and where total control is neither desirable nor necessary. Repeated cutting combined with close mowing of the area will weaken Common Nettles and allow the grass to successfully compete over a period of years.
There are other species of thistles that are not considered problem plants, such as:
There are other Dock species that are present in grassland and are not considered problem plants in the legislation. These include:
There are other Ragwort species that are present in grassland and are not considered problem plants in the legislation. For example:
Managing or making meadows, whether in a lawn or larger site, can sometimes lead to prickly problem plants like docks or nettles. Follow our expert advice for managing problem plants.
Yellow Rattle, is the single most important plant you need when creating a wildflower meadow. Here’s everything you need to know.
Want to start a community meadow, but not sure where to begin? Read our guide to creating a flower-filled haven for your local community.
Known as nature’s meadow maker, Yellow Rattle, is the single most important plant you need when creating a wildflower meadow.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Yellow rattle, commonly known as the meadow maker, is one of the most important plants you need for a meadow. Without it, vigorous grasses can grow unchecked and smother flowers you want to encourage.
As Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor grows in a meadow the grass will become thinner, making room for plants like Oxeye Daisy, Knapweeds and Vetches to appear. And if you’re lucky, maybe even an orchid will pop up.
Then large bees, especially bumblebees, move in and pollinate the flowers of yellow rattle and it’s large seed pods dry and ripen. This leaves the seeds rattling around inside. Farmers used to use the sound of the rattling seeds as their cue to cut the hay – hence the name.
Yellow Rattle is a very useful starting plant when making a wildflower meadow, but it can be a little tricky to establish. Here are some top tips to get you started:
If you have very fertile soil, it might be trickier to grow Yellow Rattle. Poor and infertile soils are best and following the steps above will help reduce the fertility of your soil over time.
Your go-to guide for transforming places into flower-rich meadows.
Late summer (August-September) is the best time to sow Yellow Rattle. It will not grow successfully if sown in the spring. The seeds can be sown no later than November because they need about 4 months below 5C to germinate in the spring.
Yellow Rattle is easy to collect by hand. Simply hold a paper bag under the ripe seed pod and shake it gently with your fingers. Collecting larger quantities can easily be done using a vacuum or leaf blower.
WATCH: Plantlife’s Sarah Shuttleworth collects Yellow Rattle with a vacuum.
There are a number of reasons why Yellow Rattle may disappear from a meadow, including:
For meadows, we recommend 0.5-2.5kg per hectare/10-20g per m2 if you are collecting your own seed.
There are several possible reasons:
Thousands of people across the country have let it grow for #NoMowMay this year.
Our gardens have bloomed with wildflowers and grasses and we’ve seen our green spaces grow beautifully wild – all to give nature the boost it deserves.
Every No Mow May lawn is different and perhaps that’s what makes them so beautiful. But we are all connected by a common goal…to leave space for nature.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in No Mow May, we hope you’ve enjoyed watching your gardens and green spaces bloom. Whether you left your whole garden to grow, kept a section short, had a go at growing a wildflower meadow or just left a space to grow wild – it all makes a difference.
We’ve absolutely loved looking through all the pictures you’ve sent in and following your #NoMowMay journeys on social media. Please keep them coming!
Since the 1930s, we’ve lost approximately 97% of flower-rich meadows and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators like bees and butterflies.
And with 1 in 5 British wildflowers under threat, it more important than ever to change the way we manage our gardens. A healthy lawn or green space with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground.
There are more than 20 million gardens in the UK, so even the smallest grassy patches can add up to a significant proportion of land which, if managed properly, can deliver enormous gains for nature, communities and the climate.
Here are some of our favourite No Mow May-ers from 2024!
A beautiful No Mow May lawn, filled with Bulbous Buttercup and Meadow Saxifrage. Credit: David and Annette Beeson
No Mow May isn’t just for gardens, green spaces all over the community can take part. This cemetery in Suffolk has been boasting buttercups and Meadow Saxifrage. Credit: Alison Barnes
To help nature, you don’t have to leave your whole garden to grow wild. Keeping some areas of your lawn short can help flowers like daisies and dandelions, as well as an abundance of wildlife.
The explosion of colour No Mow May can create can be a haven for us, and for nature.
Green spaces left to grow wild have bloomed with daisies and dandelions, providing a feast for pollinators.
Even if you don’t have a garden, many parks around the country are leaving sections of green space to grow for No Mow May – just like this park in Wales.
Every year we call for people, communities and councils to get involved in #NoMowMay – and you still can this year.
Even though we’re approaching June, you can still join the movement and register your green space. This helps us to better understand how much green space across the UK is growing wild. So please sign up and help us give nature the boost it deserves in 2024 (you’ll even be added to our interactive No Mow May map!).
And the buzz doesn’t have to stop there. If you are able to, why not carry on and do Let it Bloom June.
Grassland wildlife comes in different flavours and incorporating different grass lengths into your garden can be wonderful for wildflowers and wildlife alike. Take a look at our top tips for building on the success of No Mow May.
As well as bringing back the bloom to our lawns, there are many ways you can get involved with No Mow May, even if you don’t have a garden.
If you want to create a home for wildlife in your garden, here’s a couple of nature-friendly gardening jobs to inspire you. If you create the right space, nature will come.
It’s not just wildflowers which benefit from not mowing our lawns this May. Pollinators and other wildlife bring our gardens to life!
Want to start a community meadow, but not sure where to begin?
Read our guide to creating a flower-filled haven for your local community.
Creating a meadow is a really simple way to bring the local community together, whilst doing something positive for nature.
You don’t need to be an expert to start one – we’ve shared our tips for how to begin, what to plant, how to manage your green space year-round and how to engage the community.
So, what are community meadows? They are areas, predominantly of grassland, that are owned and managed by the community, such as parks, road verges, school grounds, village greens, church land or fields.
Read more: How to grow a wildflower meadow
Now you’ve decided to try and start a community meadow, it’s hard to know where to begin. We’ve got plenty of experience and advice to help you along the way.
Contact your local council – Whether it’s parish, town or district council, reaching out to your local decision makers to promote wildlife-friendly management can make a big difference. Local support can really help to bring about change, whether that’s through a volunteer group or social media page. Check out our Good Meadows Guide for some convincing arguments.
Positive perceptions – Some people might be concerned that not cutting a greenspace as regularly might make it look neglected and untidy. But, framing a greenspace by cutting narrow strips around the wildflower area can offset some negative perceptions. Other concerns about plant height for road safety can be tackled by growing shorter species, which can still support an array of pollinators such as clovers, trefoils, Selfheal and Yarrow.
Communicating at every step – Telling people what and why you are creating a meadow is crucial for understanding. By bringing the community with you and working together, it will be easier to explain the benefits of meadow making. You could write something in the local magazine, talk about your meadow-making journey on social media or put up a sign.
Community activities – Bringing the community together to help create a meadow can be very beneficial. You can run activities, join campaigns or hold events to gather momentum.
Clover in a hay meadow
Three Hagges Woodmeadow in Yorkshire
A pink orchid growing from green grass in a meadow
If you need some help funding your community meadow, these places might be able to offer support:
We hope that this helps you in creating a wonderful community meadow. Do let us know on social media when you have tried these methods and your progress in creating a meadow by tagging us.
Are you feeling inspired, but not sure where to start? Aside from Plantlife’s guidance, a great source of knowledge and personal support can be from meadow groups. A huge variety of groups exist across the country, who manage meadows for hay, livestock or community benefits. These groups could also be good places to start when searching for local seeds or advice.
If you would like to add your community meadow group to our list, please get in touch here.
It's been 25 years since a local campaign helped save Skylark Meadows.
Whether it’s your back garden, local park, community field or lawn, wildflower meadows are amazing spaces with so much to offer.
Made up of wildflowers and grasses that return every year, they can bring benefits to people, climate and a huge array of wildlife.
Meadows come to life in the spring and summer, bursting with vibrant wildflowers and buzzing with insects and animals. But species-rich grassland areas, which used to occur commonly throughout Britain, are now amongst the most threatened habitats in the UK.
Approximately 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost across the UK since the 1930s. That’s why wildflowers and meadows are not only beautiful staples of the British countryside, but also crucial habitats that need restoring.
Why are meadows so amazing?
WATCH: Not just a pretty space, this is a living space
So, the more areas that can be turned into wildflower meadows, the better things get for nature.
No matter the size of your land, the process of making a wildflower meadow is pretty much the same. Follow these steps to start your meadow-making journey:
Before sowing seed, in late summer or autumn, you must cut the grass as short as possible. The cuttings must then be removed because most meadow species thrive in nutrient-poor soil with low fertility levels. Leaving the cuttings on the grass to rot down, both stifles delicate seedlings, and adds nutrients.
This can easily be done using a strimmer or mower and the cuttings removed with a rake.
It is really important to control any problem plants that could prevent your meadow from thriving. For example, species such as Nettle, Creeping Thistle and Dock can rapidly spread and crowd wildflowers in poorly managed meadows.
To stop this, it is best to pull these plants out by hand, cut their heads before they set seed or spot spray them. Bramble and scrub will also need to be controlled before creating a meadow.
If you have lots of problem plants, it will be easier (if possible) to try and create a meadow on another piece of land.
Meadow on Dartmoor
Orchids in a meadow
A #NoMowMay garden
Bare ground is simply an area that has no plants living in it. It provides germination gaps and growing space for meadow flowers and grasses. Having about 50-70% of land as bare ground will increase your chances of creating a wildflower meadow.
This can be done by hand with vigorous raking, strimming or using a rented garden scarifier.
Sprinkle and gently trample in your seeds, which can be mixed with sand for easier spreading. During drier spells, water the ground if possible, but do not wash away the seeds.
Then, over the next few months pull up any Creeping Thistle and Dock or cut the flower heads off and remove before they set seed (these can spread fast and smother wildflowers).
Knowing a bit about your soil can also really help you to choose which seeds to sow. There are many factors that can influence what will grow including the soil type, fertility, location, weather, availability of light and what’s already growing there.
Don’t worry if your meadow looks a bit plain in its first year, many perennials take at least a couple of years to establish.
We hope that these tips help you in creating a wonderful meadow. Do share your meadow-making journey with us on social media by tagging us.
From bumblebees to birds and fungi to flies, meadows are micro-cities of wildlife.
Wildflower meadows, a staple of the British countryside, are a buzz of activity, especially in the spring and summer. It’s not just the wildflowers and fungi that rely on their diverse vegetation, in fact, a range of wildlife can call these habitats home. By growing a meadow, you can also create a home or hunting ground for bees, butterflies, invertebrates, birds, mammals and reptiles.
Here are some of the animals you might spot in a meadow:
Our friends at Buglife can tell you more
Buzz over to the Bumblebee Trust here.
Flutter over to Butterfly Conservation for a bit more
Fly over to the RSPB for a bit more
Meander over to the Mammal Society to find out more
Slither over to Amphibian and Reptile Conservation to find out more
Plantlife Volunteer Story
Ever wondered how biodiverse meadows are made? Plantlife Members and volunteers Andrew and Helen Martin live on a 5-acre smallholding in rural Carmarthenshire.
Here they tell us in their own words about their own ‘Meadow Story’, and how their field is now a haven for orchids and rare plants.
In recent years, the public has been alerted by the media to worry about declines in insects, especially bees. As a former bumblebee research scientist, this wasn’t news to me because the range of many bumblebee species contracted significantly in the middle of the last century. There is little doubt that big changes in UK agriculture (and therefore most of our landscape) were responsible.
To put it very simply, there aren’t as many flowers in the countryside now as there were (for over 1,000 years) So, for us, it was always an ambition to have a little bit of countryside of our own that we could manage for biodiversity, and after my getting early retirement, and Helen being made redundant, we were off like a shot to rural Wales in 2012.
Our fields had been sheep grazed for as long as anyone locally could remember, and they were still being grazed by a local sheep farmer who rents lots of small fields along the Tywi valley.
We decided to manage one of ours as a hay meadow. Research has shown that in a new meadow the plant diversity increases more quickly if you introduce Yellow Rattle, which is partly parasitic on grasses and inhibits their growth. So, in 2013 we collected Yellow Rattle seed from a neighbour’s field about a mile away and sowed it in the field. We began excluding the sheep every year from the end of March and by April 2014 the Yellow Rattle was growing well.
In mid-June 2014 we got the neighbouring farmer to cut and bale the field, but decided that it would be better in future to choose when to cut and so acquired a 1963 tractor and some small-scale haymaking implements.
I’m not particularly keen to produce a hay crop, but for floral diversity the main thing is to ensure that all the cuttings are removed from the field to reduce the soil fertility; and the easiest way to do this is to cut and bale the hay. All we produce is sold to the farmer whose sheep return after the hay cut when grass regrowth begins. I leave the hay cut as late as possible, to allow more species to drop seeds.
Each year, different species’ dominance rose and fell as the county plant recorder predicted they would. For a couple of years there was so much Yellow Rattle, but soon it settled down to more of an equilibrium, while other things rose in frequency then settled down. Eyebright appeared after a couple of years, as did Whorled Caraway (the County Flower), and Cat’s Ear.
Some plants (like Meadow Buttercup) were probably there already, but never got to flower because the sheep ate them. Broad-leaved Helleborines appeared in 2016, and in 2017, a single Southern Marsh Orchid. Common Spotted and Heath Spotted (with hybrids between them) followed, and each year the orchid numbers have increased, it was up to 50 a couple of years back and well over 100 now.
The field looks different as different plants come into flower in succession, but it even looks different on the same day in the morning and in the afternoon because the Cat’s Ear flowers close about lunchtime, so the field is much more yellow in the morning.
In the morning
In the afternoon
Plantlife has done valuable work towards achieving that aim (especially with the recent “Magnificent Meadows” campaign). County Meadows Groups also do their bit to help small landowners to get results like this field, and in the group I chair (Carmarthenshire) we’re also trying to raise the profile of species-rich grasslands generally with the UK wide “Big Meadow Search” (www.bigmeadowsearch.co.uk).
There are few people left who can remember when every farm had a hay meadow, but I hope we can succeed in bringing some back.
The beautiful mountain plant, Rosy Saxifrage, has returned to the wild in Wales after becoming extinct in 1962.
Discover the gnarled woodlands on the wildest peaks in Wales, as Robbie Blackhall-Miles reveals the secrets of Eryri’s miniature but magical Juniper forests.
The Wild Leek has been a symbol of Wales for so long that its stories date back to St David himself.
Lizzie Wilberforce
Spring is an exciting time to be on our nature reserves.
This is the season when the meadows really burst into life, with lush growth and seasonal flowers.
Cae Blaen-dyffryn is our south Wales nature reserve and can be found close to the town of Lampeter, in Carmarthenshire. It’s best known for its population of Greater and Lesser Butterfly Orchids (Platanthera chlorantha & P. bifolia) which flower in the high summer.
However, a visit in spring is always rewarding. Luxuriant fresh growth in the grassland is fed by a warm sun and abundant rain. Cuckoos call from distant hills. Within the reserve, Meadow Pipits drop from the sky above you with their cascading song, and Stonechats call assertively from the scrub.
You can also find the earliest-flowering plant species breaking through in Cae Blaen-dyffryn in May and June. If you look carefully, you can also find signs of other beauties still in store, like the feathery leaves of Whorled Caraway Carum verticillatum (Carmarthenshire’s ‘County Flower’) poking through.
In May, the most abundant include pink Lousewort (pictured) Pedicularis sylvatica, purple Bugle Ajuga reptans, and yellow Tormentil Potentilla erecta, so the reserve is already a rainbow of colour.
Scattered bushes of Broom (pictured) Cytisus scoparius and Gorse Ulex europaeus are also in their fullest seasonal yellow coat of flowers. As soon as the sun hits them, they are suddenly alive with pollinators.
The speckled leaves of Dactylorhiza Orchids(pictured) can also be found peeking out between the abundant patches of Knapweed Centaurea nigra and Cat’s-ear Hypochaeris radicata.
Our North Wales nature reserve, sitting on a hillside above Clynnog-Fawr on the Llyn peninsula, is equally known for its population of Greater Butterfly Orchids which number in their thousands at the site.
The meadows under the mountain pass face north east, making them a morning spot to visit if you wish to enjoy them in the sunshine at this time of year. They are as equally beautiful in the North Wales rain, however.
The cloddiau (earth and stone bank walls) between the fields are an equal show to the meadows, with their hedgerow tops of Rowan, Damson, Hawthorn and Blackthorn. If you look below the trees the Common Dog Violets Viola riviniana hide amongst the tree roots and the boulders.
The orchids are already visible in the meadow and the Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor is just starting to flower.
A few Celandines (pictured) Ficaria verna are just holding on but the yellow flowers and white clocks of the Dandelions Taraxacum spp contrast beautifully with the blue of the Bluebells Hyacinthus non-scripta, which are equally set off by the feathery leaves of Pignut Conopodium majus.
Spring Sedge Carex caryophyllea abounds at the site but if you look between it and the more prominent species very carefully you will see the leaves and tiny starry green flowers of the Intermediate Lady’s-mantle (pictured) Alchemilla xanthochlora and Smooth Lady’s-mantle Alchemilla glabra. If you visit in the morning on a dew laden spring day, you will catch these plants living up to their other name of ‘Dew Cup’.
There is something wonderful about the sense of promise yielded by flower-rich grasslands at this time of year. And a feeling you can’t wait to come back to see what you might find next.
Caeau Tan y Bwlch is managed on behalf of Plantlife by North Wales Wildlife Trust.
For more details on visiting our Welsh reserves in spring and throughout the year, visit our reserves page here Welsh Nature Reserves – Plantlife
Erin Shott
Discover 4 new walk ideas and Scottish spring adventure inspiration from Plantlife Scotland’s Communications and Policy Officer, Erin Shott.
Look, the seasons, they are a-changing and I don’t know about you, but I am so looking forward to that sweet, sweet spring time weather. After the cold winter days and long winter nights, I am so ready to get out there and breathe in the freshness of spring.
I would highly recommend taking a visit to one of Scotland’s rainforests if you have the opportunity. The high rainfall, and mild temperatures result in lush mossy areas just bursting with lichens and bryophytes it really does feel like I’ve stepped into a fairy tale. And if that doesn’t attract your attention then you’ll be impressed with the sheer abundance, diversity, and rarity of the species of Scotland’s rainforest.
It won’t be my first visit to the temperate rainforest; however, I’ve visited Glen Nant in the past. Plantlife has a downloadable handy wild plant walk leaflet for the Glen Nant Important Plant Area (IPA), so it was a solid motivation for a visit for me.
But I hear you ask, what if I don’t want to visit a rainforest site? Looking for something short and located in the central belt?
Then download and check out North Berwick Law, our guide is for a nice 1 mile hike up one iconic hill in East Lothian. Plenty of opportunity to spot wild plants too, like Meadow Saxifrage Saxifraga granulata, this snow-white species is found in dry grasslands, or the hilariously named Cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis, due to its delicate purple flowers starting to bloom just as the cuckoo first begins its call.
If you’re the Munro bagging type, then check out the Ben Nevis IPA, a delightful 10-mile hike that is absolutely rich in Bog Asphodel Narthecium ossifragum a plant once used for its potential as a natural dye or the delightfully carnivorous Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia (image by Michael Scott) which have long red-coloured stalks that are often seen with globules of ‘dew’ hanging from them. These globules are a polysaccharide solution to trap and digest their prey.
If you’re keen to spend a day out in the Cairngorms, take some time to discover Anagach woods IPA. Download your a free guide here. Soak in the wonders of the Caledonian pinewoods, maybe you’ll spot the rare and iconic Twinflower Linnaea borealis? This special plant is a focal point for our Cairngorms Rare Plants Project. You might also find some Wood sorrel Oxalis acetosella, with its clover-shaped leaves (that taste like apples), this springtime bloomer has delicate white flowers with lilac coloured veins.
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