Once again we have cut a path through our meadow and called it our Shortcut, but of course it is a very windy path but it gives a good view of the wild flowers in the grass.
Along with much of Saltholme the meadow is 'made ground', that is the soil has been brought from somewhere else. Then it was heavily fertilized to produce vigorous grass before it was part of a nature reserve. To change this we graze it with sheep in the winter and remove a hay crop in late summer and so remove much of the nutrients. In addition we have, over the last few years, sown Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor), also known as Hay Rattle. This is a partial parasite of grass, taking nutrients from the grass which is weakened and so wild flowers have a better chance of thriving. This year it is doing the job very well.
This is a corner of the meadow today as the Hay Rattle flowers are just opening.
This is the flower and seed pods taken a few years ago.
The seed has to be sown fresh in autumn and has to be in direct contact with the soil surface and preferably trodden in by our sheep, but when in the right place re-seeds each year.
We now can see increasing numbers of Meadow Buttercup, Red Clover, White Clover, Common Knapweed and Common Vetch. To get a good view of these just follow the mown path as it winds its way through the meadow.
In future years the finer grasses with many wild flowers will give better habitat for Skylarks and other ground dwelling birds.