Wild Meadow Maintenance

If you are a property manager and have any questions regarding your wildflower meadow, please do get in touch. We have the equipment, staff, expertise, and experience to get your wildflower meadow in peak condition.

You may have noticed vast fields with an amalgam of native flowers and grasses blooming in recent months. Wildflowers begin to take their final form between May and July, so keep an eye out for a meadow near you. This article will arm you with a new appreciation for these seemingly unmaintained areas. Vitally important for the ecosystem at play in England, wildflower meadows can be lifelines to many life forms.

Trends in farming practices, ornamental gardens, and new housing developments, and the sale of common land has unfortunately resulted in a 97% reduction in our meadows since 1930. However, it is not all doom and gloom on the wildflower scene. Each new housing development is required to dedicate a percentage of their site to this habitat, and Enviro are on hand to maintain this! As part of our ecological management expertise, we can facilitate the twice yearly mowing of these areas, and protect them during growing season.

Supporting over 3,500 species of birds, mammals, invertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles, the need to keep these areas plentiful is plain to see. A plethora of species from the colourful Cinnabar Moth, Starling, Slow worm, Bumble Bee, and Linnet all rely on wildflower areas for food, protection, nesting, and sources of pollen. Even certain fungi with ecological and medicinal properties are only found in areas with strong native flower environments.

Benefits of windflower areas include reduced risk of flooding, owing to the complex and stable root systems, carbon removal from the atmosphere, and even treatment for ailments. Most notably the foxglove, which contains digitalin, a compound used to treat heart disease. Our food production system also benefits from this. The millions of flowers that can grow in just an acre can support 96,000 bees per day. One third of all of our food relies on insects pollinating them, so supporting our pollinating peers in the natural world comes back around.

Movements such as No Mow May support habitat for pollinators. We notice on site the benefit this brings to the variety of butterfly in the area too. We’ve noticed the Common Brown Meadow species to the dazzling green coloured Brimstone butterfly on our sites lately, which all thrive in these environments. Over the last four decades, we have unfortunately seen a 76% decrease in butterfly numbers. Additional meadow areas can reverse this trend.

In more positive news, projects like Grow Wild, ran by Kew Gardens, have commissioned 26 community groups nationally to create new wildflower areas. Knepp Estate serves as an exemplar re-wilding project, the recently released ‘Wilding’ film documents this if you wish to find out more. Bristol-wise, Growing Wilder aim to educate and provide resources for anyone looking to develop their own wildflower area in private gardens or public spaces

Hannah Tovey