5.7.26 Meadow Highlights

After the usual wet, mild winter the garden meadows experienced very dry and unusually hot weather in spring and early summer. The Front Meadow – manufactured from a roadside lawn beyond and north of our high front hedge – gets some shade during the day. The vegetation height is only medium. The orchids are faring very well there, largely beneath a protective “canopy” or “sea” of Oxeye daisies.

Seven years since I started the meadow the orchids introduced by seed scattering have had their best year so far. There are over 60 Common spotted (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), 23 Southern marsh (Dactylorhiza praetermissa), and 3 possible Early marsh (Dactylorhiza incarnata var pulchella). The flower spikes have tended to be smaller and very early this year because of the drought and heat. The star turn this time has been the Pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) which have increased sharply to 12, in two separate locations.

In the Back Meadow vegetation is higher but certain patches are conducive to germinating orchid seed. The orchid numbers are lower than in the Front but not without interest. There is a smattering of small Common spotted and one very pink Dactylorhiza that is probably a hybrid involving Common spotted and something else. One Pyramidal has flowered heroically for several years now.

A Lax-flowered orchid (Anacamtis laxiflora) that I planted out a few years ago and that had disappeared surprisingly returned again in May, which was nice! Also, even more encouragingly, the first Heath spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata) flowered. I have been sowing this species for several years but with no success until now, even though the slightly acid clay soil should be conducive.

As weather patterns vary there are winners and losers amongst other wildflowers, so that meadow composition is never quite the same from year to year. Early on, Cowslips and Fritillaries continued to flourish but later the ground dried and Ragged robin and Orange hawkweed have both suffered this time around. Betony, Knapweed, and Common bent grass have all done very well. Wild carrot is staging a comeback too.

I have found that species composition can be influenced quite a lot – not surprisingly perhaps – by what species you choose to re-seed with every Autumn! I always use a lot of Hay rattle seed every year to help keep the height of the meadows in check. On the other hand I will never sow any more Oxeye daisy seed again as it is so dominant it is almost a pest! A species you particularly like can be made to succeed by continual re-sowing, even if it would naturally die out after a few years when not re-sown.

If anyone is sowing a small meadow area with wildflower seed for the first time I would say consider not using a general wildflower mixture but actually make a mix out of your own individually selected species. That way if anything becomes too dominant at least it is a species you like! A general wild grass mixture is perfectly OK to use in tandem, though.

One final point is the low-level invasion of Ragwort, hated by horse and cattle owners, from wind-blown seed each year. I am letting a few plants flower before pulling them as they give a splash of yellow colour. Also I have noticed a swarm of black and yellow caterpillars on one plant – with luck there may be Cinnabar moths flying around later.

Anthony.heys@sky.com