The Meadow Makers' Network Forum

There is a website hosted by Suzanne Noble, who grows and sells native orchids. Here she mentions orchid species suitable for a meadow: https://britishorchids.co.uk/meadow-management/ and says " Most gardens will have the necessary soil fungi present to allow the seeds of the more common specie...

Potentially surprising information about the extent of tree root systems - useful background info. How far - how deep - why - oxygen - compaction - waterlogging - water table - barriers... https://www.trees.org.uk/Trees.org.uk/files/61/6181f2b7-e35d-4075-832f-5e230d16aa9e.pdf from The Tree Advice Tr...

Bumping for you, bazwepc. In the meantime, you might find these topics of some use: A cross ref to invaluable info from Plantlife Before you start: https://forum.moremeadows.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=463 and Cutting and baling kit summary by Tracey Hamston https://forum.moremeadows.org.uk/view...

Old pond underlay is brilliant for laying over grass, to kill the grass off in patches without any effort. OK, it might not look great, but it is a quiet grey, and in the winter, does the appearance matter, if it saves some work? The pond underlay can be cut into strips or squares for easy handling,...

Thank you, Nick. I should be very grateful if you are able to ask the harvester about both the daisies and the knapweed. I am very curious because I haven't noticed ox eye daisies growing anywhere on Exmoor, other than ones which are close to houses, and which are most likely to have been specially ...

Thanks Nick. Did the land manager at Nettlecombe Court specifically sow the meadow and from where did the seed originate? or was it naturally regenerated? My question is prompted by the abundance of daisies in your picture on your website. I have the impression that daisies are more of a colonising ...

Hi Paul O, I loved your shed story and the description of your meadow and the blackcaps. How very rewarding for you. If you ever wanted to reintroduce swallows to another shed - (would they consume your bees and hornets if they re-nested in the same shed?), it might be worth considering cutting out ...

Slow progress in a meadow? - Why seeds may fail or take a very long time to germinate " Plants produce thousands of seeds but only one seed during the entire lifetime of the parent plant has to come through to maturity in order to maintain the population, therefore in nature a huge loss is expe...

Plug planting - more tips - timing of planting and details of how to actually plant a plug From Butterfly Conservation - blog by Dr Phil Sterling - Sept 22 - https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/dig-it-tips-for-gardening-in-a-drought ....." recommendation is to always grow them to a...

Hi Jane. It's very interesting to read your comments above. I would never have thought about insects using loose sand, though I suppose that's no different to naturally occurring sand dunes, and if the same insect species living near the coast find a man made sand dune, they'll use it. How rewarding...