The Meadow Makers' Network Forum

Jenny re laying the hedge and your dogs - a laid hedge done well should be stock (and dog!) proof. Are you concerned about them getting under/through or over?! I have lurchers and used to have one that could jump high. Before we got our hedge laid our current lurcher did get under the hedge once th...

Hi Clem, A few years ago I left bare root yew plants heeled in through the worst of the weather and only planted them out properly in March. They were fine. March/April are good planting months for all plants. They are unlikely to make new root growth until the weather warms up. The important thing ...

Hi Phillip, really interesting 'before and after' pictures of your hedge at Denbury. Do you know how many years it will take for the hedge to become stock proof? I would love to get my 2acre garden/meadow hedge laid, but have dogs which need to be kept in, so am concerned about getting the hedge don...

Thanks Amy - that is very interesting. My farmer neighbour doesn't appear to be bothered about spear thistle, it is allowed to grow in his 'set aside' strips in fields that are sometimes used for sheep. However my dog doesn't like it much when he steps on it, so I can see it might be a problem for s...

Wow - how wonderful is that. 5 years ago we had one early purple orchid flower...this year we spotted another one - but it is a couple of hundred meters away from the original and on very different ground! There are many in the roadside verges in this area.

Why is Spear Thistle injurious please. I can't see where is says on the Defra ID link.

Thank you John (at Mothecombe), I enjoyed the article about the garden in 'The English Garden' magazine. Mothecombe is now on my list to visit sometime...unfortunately I have missed your NGS open day this year. Are you planning to do another one? My NGS open weekend is coming up fast 5th and 6th Jun...

Lynda- yellow rattle is the most important seed to get. Buy it in August time, and sow it fresh. It took 2 to 3 years for mine to start to be self replicating each year. The seed also likes a cold period, so with our mild winters I sometimes kept a bit back and put it in the fridge for a couple of w...

Hi we are in Moreleigh and have been working on our wild flower meadow for 4 years- it’s slow but getting there ! Yellow rattle increasing every year. We grazed first 2 winters for only a few weeks at a time but haven’t for last 2 for logistical reasons. I def think grazing speeds things up ! We ar...