The Meadow Makers' Network Forum

Hi Hilly I’m not sure pigs will help you much, ragwort is toxic to pigs too I think. It sounds like maybe the main fear for your neighbouring farmer is that once the ragwort sets seed, it will travel (they are very light like dandelion seed and blown on the wind) to his land. This is a valid fear. S...

Hi Hilly Do you know what your next door farmer’s real concern is? Is he trying to make hay for example? Has he said? What is the conflicting advice you’ve read? Ragwort is poisinous to livestock, but also good for wildlife! However, we have take take a wide view of these things, in that theres no p...

great news. Is that also a betony leaf in the lower left hand corner of the first photo?

Great video, what a beauty. In awe of your wife who didn't even flinch when the snake suddenly panicked! Nerves of steel. I love snakes but can’t contain my natural instinct of fear when I'm that close to them.

Yes I have heard the same thing about fungal networks and orchids from a friend who is a botanist. She is kind enough to help me identify flowers when I'm completely lost.. the last time it was a strange orchid type plant called a Twayblade. It flowered one year, and I search for it every year now, ...

Very sorry to hear about deer eating these orchids Paul. But the very fact that these lovely orchids have appeared on your watch, is something to be proud of. I had no idea that orchids were so tasty to deer, cows etc so that’s interesting to learn. We have Spotted heath orchids here and they surviv...

I like the sound of this idea Melanie and it's interesting to hear that it seems to be working well. My meadows run I to the garden and so there is a slight crossover...and I find that every year the veg beds are full of wildflowers which have self seeded. I can't bring myself to chuck them on the c...

This book I find very useful for identifying wild flowers. It has good, clear photos inside. It's too large to be used as a field guide, but then I find most field guides too small to be of much use anyhow. It's by Rae Spencer-Jones and Sarah Cuttle, and published by Kyle Cathie ltd, in association ...

I find this book helpful for moth identification.

Thankyou very much for the identification...I would never have guessed it was a sawfly larvae, so I've really learnt something new! Like you Alice, I was thinking that colours are sometimes a good clue to the puzzle, and was wondering if it was a hummingbird hawk moth caterpillar...but my ( admitted...