<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/24/mysterious-self-willed-wildflower-meadow-that-seeded-itself>
"Tucked away on a country lane, a small field bursts with yellow and pink
flowers. Quail and whitethroats call from the thick hedges and the plants,
including common centaury, yellow rattle and marsh and common spotted orchids,
bounce with hoverflies and butterflies.
More than 150 plant species have been recorded on Sayer’s Old Meadow, in north
Norfolk, England, which is remarkable when there was just one – oilseed rape –
growing there 21 years ago.
This transformation has happened without sowing any commercial wildflower mixes
or making any other expensive interventions such as deep ploughing or top-soil
removal, often undertaken when arable land is “restored” to nature-rich meadow.
Instead, the four-acre field was simply cut for hay once every summer, with an
abundance of wildflowers naturally – and rather mysteriously – finding their
way into the field.
These findings, published in a scientific paper in
Restoration Ecology, could
transform the approach to recreating flower-rich meadows. Conservationists and
landowners are pushing to revive old meadows because 98% in England and Wales
have been destroyed over the last century.
“Everyone is planting and seeding wildflowers, but sometimes we’re not patient
enough,” said Carl Sayer, a professor of limnology and freshwater ecology at
University College London and lead author of the paper. “You don’t always have
to reach for that expensive commercial wildflower seed mix. We’ve forgotten
that nature has known what to do for quite a long while.”"
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
