These first two photos were taken two days ago in the wildlife garden described in the post
These last two photos were taken in June this year in the four acre meadow referred to in this post 
Meadows are a big part of the work of many conservation organisations not least the Wildlife Trust. I've mentioned before my involvement in a local initiative to ensure the conservation of a four acre field which has been lying idle for several years. Luckily the owner did get the grass cut once a year. A flora survey has identified plant species under three headings; woody species ( in the old hedges) total of species 15; Dicotyledons, ( flowers ) total of species 61; Monocotyledons ( grasses, lilies and orchids) total of species 29. A grand total of 105. To get an understanding of how to look after such a site I have been reading information from many sources including the web site shown as a link at the start of the post. The name of this wildlife garden which is "Sticky Wicket" is well known in for its association with campaigns against such developments as GM plants. On a recent visit I was particularly interested in learning how the owners had developed the several areas of wildflower meadow. Even by taking off 8 inches of top soil to give wild flowers a chance against the stronger growing grasses. If you are interested visit the web site given here as a link. (http://www.stickywicketgarden.co.uk/) In future posts I expect to be able to summarise our progress in managing our 4 acres.
