UK's Meadows - 98% Now Gone - We Have Run Out of Time

[mutantpoodle]

What is A Meadow
A meadow is an area of grassland which is left to grow long through the spring and summer months. In late summer, the grass is cut for hay to feed animals in the winter, and the area is then grazed until the ground becomes too wet. This makes it different from pasture which is grazed all year round.

Meadows can look very different, depending on what is growing in them, but the key feature is that the vegetation is left during the growing and flowering season, and then cut. This system provides an ideal habitat for many wildflowers as it gives them time to flower and set seed before the grass is removed.

AiY(D)

...

noted...well i have left 'the end' of my garden to go wild/meadow, the grass is loving not being cut, its 15 iches high (long??) and I cannot see how any flowers will manage to grow in such conditions
have I got it wrong
(mowing later in year will be a nightmare in such grass)

[AsleepInYorkshire]

What is A Meadow
A meadow is an area of grassland which is left to grow long through the spring and summer months. In late summer, the grass is cut for hay to feed animals in the winter, and the area is then grazed until the ground becomes too wet. This makes it different from pasture which is grazed all year round.

Meadows can look very different, depending on what is growing in them, but the key feature is that the vegetation is left during the growing and flowering season, and then cut. This system provides an ideal habitat for many wildflowers as it gives them time to flower and set seed before the grass is removed.

AiY(D)

...

noted...well i have left 'the end' of my garden to go wild/meadow, the grass is loving not being cut, its 15 iches high (long??) and I cannot see how any flowers will manage to grow in such conditions
have I got it wrong
(mowing later in year will be a nightmare in such grass)

Try this site

This too

Or this site

I used this to term to search "how to have wild flowers in part of my lawn"

HTH

AiY(D)
I forgot to say ... if you plant Lavender (Lavandula Hidcote) this will help Bees greatly and the smell when they are in flower is stunning. They do get woody after about 5 years so I'd suggest cutting about 33% of the wood out each year as they grow or if you prefer, replace them completely. If you shop around you can usually find them in nurseries for about £3.50 for a small plant. Use Miracle Grow when they are planted. It does what it says on the tin. I've used it for decades. They make a great small border hedge and when in flower there will be a large number of busy bees visiting them.

[88V8]

(mowing later in year will be a nightmare in such grass)

In our previous house I routinely left areas of the lawn to grow all summer and cut them in the autumn.

One has to avoid walking on them, and it's easier to cut if not flattened by rain.
I used a rotary mower.
Cut with the grass box on.
Set the cutting height high.
Start by tipping it back slightly on its rear wheels so it's even higher.
Gradually bring it down onto all wheels.

The grass looks rough for a while until it regrows, so you may want to cut before autumn if it will be visible from the house and a degree of tattiness bothers you, then it will have a chance to regrow before winter.

I never tried wild flowers in the grass. They generally need a poor soil, even a soil deliberately depleted by something like Yellow Rattle.

V8

[Clitheroekid]

The question is this: In a land that is massively over-crowded, can we afford to have fallow land of little economic value that is not tended?

Even national parks have to produce economic value.

Despite your username surely even you can understand that there are values other than purely monetary ones?

For many people the value they derive from experiencing an environment that is not man-made is far in excess of any monetary return that land might provide.

[BullDog]

The question is this: In a land that is massively over-crowded, can we afford to have fallow land of little economic value that is not tended?

Even national parks have to produce economic value.

Despite your username surely even you can understand that there are values other than purely monetary ones?

For many people the value they derive from experiencing an environment that is not man-made is far in excess of any monetary return that land might provide.

That rules out anywhere in England then? The Yorkshire Dales, Lake District etc.... in my eyes they're pretty awful from a landscape perspective. No trees to speak of.

[BullDog]

Out local council this year has had a big emphasis on sowing wild flower seeds on more or less every patch of grass that it can. Verges, roundabouts etc.... Whilst it does seem a reasonable idea and on balance I approve, are deliberately sewn wild flowers actually wild? I think the answer is no. But given the situation we're in where everywhere is being (over) developed it's the best we can hope for.

This year so far I've seen just one butterfly. It's the lowest number I've ever seen. Not doing too badly for bees and hover flies. Probably due to having a reasonably hard winter there's nothing like as many wasps around this year. My garden is as insect friendly as I can manage. I have had to stop encouraging birds since the local domestic cat population just kills them. I definitely think over development locally is having a very big negative impact on critters. Very noticeable over the last 5 to 10 years as the rate of house building has increased in all directions. (North West England).

[doolally]

Despite your username surely even you can understand that there are values other than purely monetary ones?

For many people the value they derive from experiencing an environment that is not man-made is far in excess of any monetary return that land might provide.

That rules out anywhere in England then? The Yorkshire Dales, Lake District etc.... in my eyes they're pretty awful from a landscape perspective. No trees to speak of.

If those in the overcrowded south think that the Dales, Lake District, Scotland are pretty awful, that suits me fine. Leaves more room, fewer people and fresh air for those of us up north who appreciate the beauty of our landscape
doolally

[BullDog]

That rules out anywhere in England then? The Yorkshire Dales, Lake District etc.... in my eyes they're pretty awful from a landscape perspective. No trees to speak of.

If those in the overcrowded south think that the Dales, Lake District, Scotland are pretty awful, that suits me fine. Leaves more room, fewer people and fresh air for those of us up north who appreciate the beauty of our landscape
doolally

The thing is, don't you think it would be massively better with more trees? Like it was several thousand years ago? I do.

[doolally]

If those in the overcrowded south think that the Dales, Lake District, Scotland are pretty awful, that suits me fine. Leaves more room, fewer people and fresh air for those of us up north who appreciate the beauty of our landscape
doolally

The thing is, don't you think it would be massively better with more trees? Like it was several thousand years ago? I do.

I'm happy with the overall balance, but wouldn't object to more trees (but not all row upon row of conifers). But not so many that they obscure the view of the wild uplands and mountains.
doolally

[BullDog]

The thing is, don't you think it would be massively better with more trees? Like it was several thousand years ago? I do.

I'm happy with the overall balance, but wouldn't object to more trees (but not all row upon row of conifers). But not so many that they obscure the view of the wild uplands and mountains.
doolally

It's a shame it's taking so long but there's a few very large landowners taking reforestation with indigenous species a lot more seriously. I wish there was a lot more of it, the critters would all be a lot happier. What's also interesting is the studies I've seen are that estates that take land reforestation seriously are financially more productive and employ a lot more local people in traditional skills. It seems everyone wins.

[Clitheroekid]

I’m sure I posted some time ago about how I had noticed a huge decline in the insect population, but despite the wondrous qualities of the LF search facility I can’t find it. But the virtual disappearance of insects this summer seems even more noticeable than ever.

I recently spent a few days travelling around Berkshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire and going for some long walks in the local countryside, and I was genuinely shocked by just how few insects there were. Although there was a good mayfly hatch on some of the local rivers I saw virtually no butterflies at all, and the wildflowers were out in abundance but nearly of them seemed unvisited. It was really quite spooky, and once I’d noticed it I couldn’t help seeing it everywhere I went.

On a purely selfish level I have to say that walking in an insect free environment is considerably more pleasant than having to swat away flies and constantly watch out for malicious little beasts that bite or sting. But recognising how important insects are for the natural world generally I’m really quite worried what the long-term effects of this disappearance will be.

I think most people haven’t noticed, simply because the decline has been gradual over quite a long time, and, in any case, I suppose there are a lot of other people like myself who are only too pleased that their houses are no longer invaded by flies, moths, wasps and so on. But it made me think of when we were little children. Our garden, which was just a bug standard (sorry!) suburban garden, was filled with butterflies, and in the evening nobody dared leave a light on with a window open or the room would have been full of moths in no time.

It would be fascinating to see a film of a suburban garden in the 1960s in high summer, if only to prove to myself that I’m not suffering from false memory syndrome! I suspect that if we were suddenly immersed in that environment now we’d find it quite startling.

[swill453]

I’m sure I posted some time ago about how I had noticed a huge decline in the insect population, but despite the wondrous qualities of the LF search facility I can’t find it.

Let's see. Searching for posts you've written containing the word "insects" gets exactly 2 hits. The above, and this one viewtopic.php?f=59&t=29875&p=419351#p419351

Scott.

[Clitheroekid]

I’m sure I posted some time ago about how I had noticed a huge decline in the insect population, but despite the wondrous qualities of the LF search facility I can’t find it.

Let's see. Searching for posts you've written containing the word "insects" gets exactly 2 hits. The above, and this one viewtopic.php?f=59&t=29875&p=419351#p419351

Scott.

Thanks, though I rather wish I’d found that myself, as I could have saved several minutes writing an exact repeat!

[BullDog]

Let's see. Searching for posts you've written containing the word "insects" gets exactly 2 hits. The above, and this one viewtopic.php?f=59&t=29875&p=419351#p419351

Scott.

Thanks, though I rather wish I’d found that myself, as I could have saved several minutes writing an exact repeat!

It's very worrying, I agree. I have seen one butterfly this year. It's been a fair year so far for bees and hoverflies. The severe winter spell seems to have reduced the wasp population that was out of hand here the last few summers. But it's the lack of butterflies that's really very worrying. My Buddliea plants are coming into bud. I'll be keeping an eye out once the flowers arrive. Butterfly population here seems in critical decline to me.

One other anecdote, I can go out on my motorcycle and return home without a single bug splat on the visor. That never used to happen. It's very worrying indeed.

[Clitheroekid]

I'm glad it's not just me - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -with-them

[Lootman]

It would be fascinating to see a film of a suburban garden in the 1960s in high summer, if only to prove to myself that I’m not suffering from false memory syndrome! I suspect that if we were suddenly immersed in that environment now we’d find it quite startling.

The one thing I do recall from my 1960s childhood suburban garden is great clouds of what we called midges. They were tiny but made up for that by their sheer number. Usually noticed them in the evening but perhaps they were just easier to see in that light - Americans call them no-see-ums. Maybe they are gone now or maybe my eyesight is just worse now.

[BullDog]

It would be fascinating to see a film of a suburban garden in the 1960s in high summer, if only to prove to myself that I’m not suffering from false memory syndrome! I suspect that if we were suddenly immersed in that environment now we’d find it quite startling.

The one thing I do recall from my 1960s childhood suburban garden is great clouds of what we called midges. They were tiny but made up for that by their sheer number. Usually noticed them in the evening but perhaps they were just easier to see in that light - Americans call them no-see-ums. Maybe they are gone now or maybe my eyesight is just worse now.

Not only midges. This summer I have seen just two butterflies in my garden. The salvia and the buddleia are in flower. Not a butterfly to be seen. Bees and hover flies are here, but no butterflies. Very concerning.

[JohnB]

The meadows in our nature reserves are actively managed. We graze sheep or do hay cuts and remove the hay to ensure the environment is nutrient poor so the species we want, especially orchids. thrive. If you don't manage a meadow it will become scrub woodland in only a few years.

We value our meadows a lot, they get a lot more love per acre than the woods around them. Its nothing to do with economics, most of the work is done by volunteers. Again, I'd not like to live in the world of pure utility that some posters here prefer.

[Lootman]

We value our meadows a lot, they get a lot more love per acre than the woods around them. Its nothing to do with economics, most of the work is done by volunteers. Again, I'd not like to live in the world of pure utility that some posters here prefer.

I think that you misunderstand the criticism of that posture.

The objection is not against you enjoying fallow non-productive land. But rather being asked to subsidise the opportunity cost of that.

So sure, if you want to buy that land and then wallow in the bliss of its natural state, then fine. Just do not expect the rest of us to subsidise your bliss.

[JohnB]

No meadows in lootmanland then