Wild Flower Meadow in May

Wild Flower Meadow in May

cowslips in the wild

May is the month when the countryside really starts to prepare itself for summer. In the traditionally managed meadow not far from my home, cowslips are braving the rain and merrily blooming in the hope that the sun will come out for long enough for bees to pollinate them. The grass is thriving in this weather and is beginning to grow strongly and it won't be long before the cow parsley explodes into fluffy white flowers beneath the trees.

In my garden, Dandelions are putting on a defiant show in the lawn and because it's been too wet to get the hoe out, there are red and white dead-nettles flowering beneath the fruit bushes...not that I mind, they're great bee food.

My own little wild flower patches are thriving too.  The Meadowmat patch is now 1 year old and looks very different to when it was first installed.  There are undoubtedly more flowering plants and more species than last year, the grass is less rampant..probably thanks to the yellow rattle in the seed mix and I am estimating that the campion will be in flower in about a week's time...the buds are swelling nicely but I'm not sure if this is a white campion, a red campion or a bladder campion.  All 3 are in the seedmix so I'm playing a waiting game.

campion and plantain almost flowering

There'll be no more mowing in my meadow until at least the end of July.

The area I sowed from seed is less biodiverse but the plants are bigger...probably because it hasn't been mown over the winter.  It looks as though I can expect flowers from yarrow, plantain, campion, scarlet pimpernel and some self-sown dandelions.

I have to confess that I haven't taken a look at the seeds I sneaked onto my farmer-husband's uncultivated land.  All being well I'll be able to check on them over the weekend.  I also have some heartease seeds to sow - I'll probably waft them about when he's not looking.  Interesting development on the farmer front.......he's growing peas this year and remarked that there couldn't possibly be enough bees to pollinate every pea flower on his field......all the more reason to encourage bees with wild flowers says I....with the situation as it is your crops might not be yielding their your full potential.  That pricked his ears up.  Pollinators don't interest him, by profits do!

Angela's top 20 wild flowers; Number 20 is Ribwort Plantain

As a child, I used to love going for walks with my Grandmother, Nanny Brown, who would encourage me to take note of what was growing beside the footpath and in the woods. As I grew up,  I became distracted by homework, ponies, Young Farmers, weddings, children, etc and wild flowers were pushed to the back of my mind. But since Q Lawns launched Meadowmat last spring, I've revived my interest in wild flowers and I've enjoyed re-learning their names, finding flowers that didn't grow in the hedgerows around Brickendon and of course remembering how simple life was back then. 

It's been soooo difficult putting together a top twenty chart of my favourite wild flowers and there are lots and lots of runners up.  But here goes.

Number 20: Ribwort Plantain





plaintain viewed from above - not so plain after all!

This is one plant that I've only really noticed in the past 6 months.  It seems pretty unremarkable really.  It's not showy, or fragrant or outstanding in any way. In the lawn, it's an undesirable; it doesn't have much nectar but the seedheads remain for most of the winter and are eaten by sparrows and dunnock. BUT there are a number of moth caterpillars that rely on plantains for food.

Why do I like plantains?  well,  my daughter has two baby tortoises to care for, they're too young to hibernate and they need fresh foliage all through the winter. Rhonda and Hermione are not allowed "Supermarket greens" because apparently they don't have the right balance of nutrients and so I have become hunter gatherer for a couple of reptiles.  Ribwort plantain and Yarrow are just about the only wild plants on the "safe for tortoises to eat" list that are easy to find in January, hence, they are both in the top twenty.

Plantains remind me of a certain kind of person, there's one in nearly every organisation.  Whatever the occasion they'll be there, but they're rarely noticed and even more rarely appreciated for what they have to offer.  Another elderly relative had a favourite saying "squeaky gate gets the oil" meaning those who make the most noise get the most attention, but the quiet, nay seemingly insignificant ones, could well be the most useful