18/08/2026
We had a fantastic day out at Cooks Farm a couple of weeks ago. We were hosted by Lucy and Patricia from the Forest of Selwood group. They showed us round the meadows, helped us crop the mature seedheads of many native meadow flowers, and then showed us the best ways to save the seeds. We now have seeds of:
• Bird’s foot trefoil
• Devil’s it scabious
• Lesser knapweed
• Tufted vetch
• Self heal
• Oxeye daisy
• Meadow vetchling.
A single acre of meadow flowers can contain millions of blossoms that produce abundant nectar and pollen to feed bees, moths, butterflies, and beneficial insects. The insects sustained by meadows provide essential food for higher-level wildlife, including bats, hedgehogs, and farmland birds. Many rare insects rely on specific native flowers to survive, meaning the loss of a single plant species can trigger the local extinction of dependent wildlife.
We’ll be sowing these seeds (along with many other we already have) throughout September. We’ll sow them in plugs ready for people who want to plant up small meadows to pick up in the spring.
