Wild Flower Field

We acquired this field in 2012 when it was sold off by a previous tenant, who had kept horses in the 3 fields that back onto our garden. What was to become a 2 acre flower field had not been cultivated for some 20 years according to a local farmer, and been largely abandoned to thistles and docks. Clearing the perennial weeds inevitably involved glyphosate and 2012 was so wet, drainage had to be put. But all that done, in May 2013 it was sown with 16 kgs of perennial wild flower mix, ‘Minster Meadows Standard 80:20’ from Hurrell & Mclean Seeds Ltd.

The first-year grass grew and annuals in the mix, flowered. By the 3rd year there was a spectacular crop of oxeye daisies in the early summer, but less of a display of any flowers later. However, in following years the dominance of the oxeye daisies receded and although plentiful and lovely by the moon in early June, there is also a beautiful mix of early summer flowers including red and white campion, ragged robins, yellow rattle, birds foot trefoil, betony, clovers, speedwells, stitchwort and vetchlings. However following the drought and heat of 2022  some species did not show up the following year and efforts have been made to re-seed.
In the later summer there is wonderful flowering of sweet-smelling ladies’ bedstraw, common knapweed and yarrow and finally the blue field scabious.

In May paths are mown to encourage visitors to walk through the fields, enjoy the flowers and count the butterflies.