Wildflower Meadows in Decline in the UK

Wildflower Meadows in Decline in the UK was originally a post from my newsletter – sign up here.

Wildflowers bloom in abundance in the summer in Europe. Winding through small country roads in the car and you can’t help but notice them. I remember seeing them during a trip to France and feeling amazed at the sheer amount.

Comparatively the UK has lost 7.5 million acres of wildflower meadow and flower-rich grassland since the 1930s according to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew. And in my experience, the UK may have a lot of farmland and hedgerows, but I’ve very rarely happened upon a wildflower meadow by chance.

Fields of flowers are indeed poetic and whimsical, but they are practical too. 1400 insect species rely on them for survival including grasshoppers, crickets and butterflies. They help to maintain a healthy ecosystem with hedgehogs, birds and bats eating the insects that breed in wildflower meadows.

Increased farming means those vast areas of meadow in the UK have been cleared for crop production and grazing. Leaving 3% of meadowland left. It is counterproductive as the meadow provides beneficial insects to fertilise the crops. It’s how an ecosystem works, take away the bottom tiers, and we eventually get left with nothing.

‘Oh, doom and gloom’ my father would say.

So what can we do about it?

Native wildflowers quickly grow when left alone. In wooded areas in spring, you can find whole sheaths of bluebells hidden away. The curbside is often dotted with wildflower jewels as are the sides of crop fields if the farmer hasn’t got too excited with pesticides. And little patches of wasteland can offer blooms that more than often get overlooked. They can even sprout in your garden, daisies and clover, for example.

A wildflower is categorised as a plant that grows in its natural habitat, one that is native to the country and not cultivated or modified by artificial selection. Whereas a weed is any flower growing in the wrong place. In this context, a weed is a plant that is taken into a different country by humans, not a random dandelion in the middle of your lawn.

It’s something to keep in mind if you are thinking of planting a wildflower meadow. August is the harvest season, so there is plenty of free space for growing a wildflower meadow. The main thing is to plant flowers that are native to the area. And to do this takes a bit of research. There are websites selling seeds for planting, reach out and make sure the flowers are native to where you live—or even asking a knowledgeable person in the local garden centre.

And while we think of vast space for a wildflower meadow, it’s also possible to plant in a corner of your garden, just make sure it’s a sunny spot.

‘Where flowers bloom so does hope.’ Lady Bird Johnson

Where To Buy Seeds:

Scotia Seeds (Scotland)

Heritage Seeds (UK)

British Wildflowers (UK)

Further reading:

Britain’s Wild Flowers – Rosamond Richardson. A beautiful National Trust book with stories of history, remedies and whatnot regarding wildflowers in the UK.

The Wildflower Key. How To Identify Wild Plants, Trees, Shrubs In Britain And Ireland.Francis Rose. A useful wildflower identifier guide.