Wildflower Wander#3

Our third wildflower wander, to celebrate National Meadows Day, was undertaken on a cool showery day. Fortunately, the rain held off for most of the walk and our small but enthusiastic group of nature lovers enjoyed their tour of two gardens in N Betchworth, where wildflowers were being encouraged to grow. In the first garden, a 2 acre self-seeded area was covered in withering oxeye daisies and numerous purple pyramid orchids together with yellow birds-foot trefoil, black medic and purple self-heal. An adjacent field had been sown with wildflower seed in 2024 and had a healthy growth of oxeye daisies, thistles, knapweed, teazel, bristly oxtongue, yellow birds-foot trefoil, black medic, ragwort,  pink mallow and purple self-heal.

The second garden has a magnificent view of the Betchworth Hills. The large garden was sown with wildflower seed 9 years ago and now has the most beautiful display of oxeye daisies (now past their best), abundant knapweed with yellow birds-foot trefoil,  rough hawkbit, pink mallow and many more species.

Wandering through the close-cut grass paths that meander through the wildflower garden we were struck by the scarcity of foraging insects. Admittedly it was cool, cloudy and at times breezy but given it was early July hardly any  butterflies and no bees were observed. It raised the scarry spectre of an insect free world in spite of our efforts to create better conditions for their prosperity.