What is happening on Clifton Hill?
In November 2021, the council cut the grass on the whole site. Then volunteers raked the grass so that cuttings could be removed. This prevents the cuttings from decaying back into the soil and refertilising it - and this more infertile soil favours wildflowers over grass.
To best promote flowers, the council will cut the grass once or twice a year, and volunteers will rake up the cuttings afterward. The meadow has been seeded and planted with native wildflowers - plus non-native ones to extend the pollen season for our insect friends.
The meadow has three sections, each prepared in a different way to vary the appearance and see which works best. The ground in one section had shallow cuts made in it (scarified) before being seeded, in the autumn of 2021. One section was broken up by a rotating blade (rotovated) and seeded in the autumn; the third section was rotovated and seeded in April 2022.
Rotovation has become controversial because it exposes small insects and seeds in the soil. But we used it on two smaller sections because it makes it easier for new seeds to establish while reducing the strength of the grass - hopefully giving us more flowers.
We hope this demonstration of three different types of management will help other groups in West Bristol and beyond who want to establish meadows.
To best promote flowers, the council will cut the grass once or twice a year, and volunteers will rake up the cuttings afterward. The meadow has been seeded and planted with native wildflowers - plus non-native ones to extend the pollen season for our insect friends.
The meadow has three sections, each prepared in a different way to vary the appearance and see which works best. The ground in one section had shallow cuts made in it (scarified) before being seeded, in the autumn of 2021. One section was broken up by a rotating blade (rotovated) and seeded in the autumn; the third section was rotovated and seeded in April 2022.
Rotovation has become controversial because it exposes small insects and seeds in the soil. But we used it on two smaller sections because it makes it easier for new seeds to establish while reducing the strength of the grass - hopefully giving us more flowers.
We hope this demonstration of three different types of management will help other groups in West Bristol and beyond who want to establish meadows.
Our volunteers seeded the prepared ground with a mix that's ideal for bees and butterflies. They also added plug-plants to dramatically speed up the meadow’s development, making it support wildlife faster. It also made it look beautiful quicker - important for the public to accept the meadow.
There’s a grass margin around the meadow area to make it look neat, reduce fire risk, and allow for more daffodils (most of the existing ones have been kept).
A full species survey and a list of species added by WCBA is here.
To prepare the floral lawn area, the grass was cut and then volunteers raked it and seeded it with a floral lawn mix that included selfheal, meadow buttercup, sheep’s sorrel, autumn hawkbit, bladder campion, devil’s-bit scabious, wild thyme, white clover, germander speedwell and others.
The wildflowers began blooming in May, after the daffodils had been and gone, and had long grass growing amongst the flowers. The meadow will only be mowed twice a year.
The rest of the site will be mowed eight times a year, and volunteers will remove the cuttings.
Wildflower meadows take a while to establish. In the first year, only about a fifth of the whole bank consisted of obvious wildflowers (poppies being the first flowers to show). This is because many of the plants are long-living perennials that only flower after two or three years.
Over the next year or two, the grass will thin out as wildflowers start to dominate.
For the first year, the two floral lawn sections haven't looked very different from the existing grass, because the flowering species take time to establish themselves.
An important part of the project is that we have put up signage that explains to the public what’s going on – and brings them here to our website, where they can learn how to copy our floral lawn or meadow in their own gardens, and/or try to get more wildflowers on unused green space in the city.
There’s a grass margin around the meadow area to make it look neat, reduce fire risk, and allow for more daffodils (most of the existing ones have been kept).
A full species survey and a list of species added by WCBA is here.
To prepare the floral lawn area, the grass was cut and then volunteers raked it and seeded it with a floral lawn mix that included selfheal, meadow buttercup, sheep’s sorrel, autumn hawkbit, bladder campion, devil’s-bit scabious, wild thyme, white clover, germander speedwell and others.
The wildflowers began blooming in May, after the daffodils had been and gone, and had long grass growing amongst the flowers. The meadow will only be mowed twice a year.
The rest of the site will be mowed eight times a year, and volunteers will remove the cuttings.
Wildflower meadows take a while to establish. In the first year, only about a fifth of the whole bank consisted of obvious wildflowers (poppies being the first flowers to show). This is because many of the plants are long-living perennials that only flower after two or three years.
Over the next year or two, the grass will thin out as wildflowers start to dominate.
For the first year, the two floral lawn sections haven't looked very different from the existing grass, because the flowering species take time to establish themselves.
An important part of the project is that we have put up signage that explains to the public what’s going on – and brings them here to our website, where they can learn how to copy our floral lawn or meadow in their own gardens, and/or try to get more wildflowers on unused green space in the city.