The Meadow Makers' Network Forum

Hi Yvette,
Welcome to Devon and our new group. That sounds a really exciting project - fantastic. If you post under the making meadows section about your project you might find other members offer you some help and advice - and maybe seeds/green hay. You also might find there's someone not too far away whose done a similiar project. We're keen to attract as many people as possible to our group - so might you be willing to put up some posters locally about our on-line talks? That's a way of people finding out about us. Have you a local shop or post office or village noticeboard - somewhere people visit often? I can email you a poster about the next talk when I receive it. Someone from Plantlife is going to be speaking on wildflower verges. And just spreading the word about us would be helpful. It will be good when we can meet up and in the future we may hold an open meadows/gardens day.
Thanks again
Best wishes
Jon

I’ve/we’ve just joined this group and have a former working farm at Bridestowe , that we let the farmhouse out for holiday let’s.weve had a couple of visits from Devon Wildlife Trust. We’ve an area in mind to make into a wild flower meadow. Should we look to plant local flower seeds etc or is it ok to buy a big bag on line type thingy. Thanks George

Hi George,
Welcome to the group. Did the wildlife trust visit recently and did they offer any advice on management? Did they say your farm was valuable for wildlife? I wondered if they'd sent you a letter after their visit as it would be useful to see it. You can email me privately on jon.valters@btinternet.com
I would be wary about buying seed on-line. There are some reputable UK suppliers which we can recommend. But if you just buy any seed it could be it isn't even native seed. The best option would be obtaining seed locally from a well established meadow and that might be possible. It would also be useful for me to know how many acres you have and the size of area you're thinking of restoring to wildflower meadow.
Best wishes
Jon

Hi Jon, he was very interested in us leaving the wet areas alone and only mowing 1/3 of some fields. Others have sheep grazing on them. He suggested leaving our woodland alone except for an odd trim here and there,suggested we laid hedges. Haven’t had the report but more than happy to forward on. We have about 28 acres in total, but was thinking of a plot a couple of football pitches in size as that’s separate to all the others. We have barn owls and kestrels resident on site

Hi George,
Thanks for getting back. It sounds fantastic. So the Trust visited recently? Have you culm grassland do you think - this is a very rare type of wet grassland?
Best wishes
Jon

Hi Jon
Wednesday last week they were on site. Awaiting his report/ideas/input. No idea what sort of grass

Hi I am based near Gulworthy and happy to join in with West Devon group. As part of the AONB I am interested to make contact with other people based in the AONB and local to the Tamar Valley to see what self help we can provide.

Sorry for delay in replying. Always find it difficult to remember how to log on to the forum! Nowhere really close but I can try in Tavistock to see if there is anywhere friendly to put up posters etc. It would be great to organise a West Devon get-together when possible.

I’ve just signed up to More Meadows as I am trying to establish a meadow in my garden.
I live in Horsebridge, so I thought I would make contact with the West Devon group.
I would love for somebody to come round and advise me on what I’m doing wrong and what to do next. I’m a complete beginner but I love wildlife. If anyone is able to visit on a weekend it would be very much appreciated. My wife and I are in need of guidance.
I can supply a photo if required of the challenge involved.
Regards,
Jason

Hi Jason,
Welcome to More Meadows.
I'm not too far from you in St Giles on the Heath. It would be useful to know the size of the area, what was there before, the type of soil you have and how fertile it may be and what you have done so far. I came across this useful article by Trevor Dines from Plantlife who is an exprienced meadow maker - https://plantlife.love-wildflowers.org. ... eadow/[url][/url]
If its an area of lawn you're trying to establish the meadow on I wondered if you'd just stopped cutting it to see what flowers appeared? Did the area have some wild flowers already present? Do send me a photo and a bit more information. I'm afraid I'm no expert but myself and others in the group may be able to help. My email address is jon.valters@btinternet.com
All the best
Jon