You may have seen notices around the centre of Cumnor Village. We are experimenting with replanting some verges along High Street with wild flowers.
Please give us some time, they will look a little wild and raggedy for a while, but bear with us. The pollinators are going to love it!
Other areas such as the junction of The Glebe are being treated to 'No Mow May' as another experiment.
Since the 1930s, and up to the 1980s, we have lost 97% of our wildflower meadows. meadows from the 1930s up to the 1980s.
More is needed to recreate wildflower eco-systems. It doesn't matter what size or shape - pollinators are not fussy. The important thing is to do something.
Even a 1 metre strip in your garden given over to a wildflower patch will provide huge benefits. Imagine if every one of our 2,500 households in this parish did the same...
How to create a wildflower bed
Seedbed preparation
The first task to undertake is to kill any grasses, weeds or other plants in the area. You can do so by spraying or completely lifting the turf. After the area is cleared, the soil has to be broken up with a fork, or a petrol tiller if you are working on a large area.
Sowing seeds
Pure wildflower seed mixtures (100%) need to be sown at 3g per square metre, and 80/20 mixtures need to be sown at 5g per square metre. After spreading the seed, rake the soil gently, then compact it by treading the seeds in.
Establishing wildflowers
A few weeks after sowing the seeds will begin to germinate. The growth of the different grasses and flowers will vary, so if grasses start to emerge first there's no need to worry. For annual mixes or mixes with perennials and annuals in them, colour will come in the first year, but a perennials mix will look much better in its second year.
Maintenance
Keep your flower meadow in good condition, by going over the area with a strimmer at the end of the season, in September or October - after the plants have all finished flowering. Follow up by removing the debris and then mowing the area, cutting down to 15cm or so.