Flowers and grasses in the orchard
We planted the orchard when we first came here, fifteen years ago, and have been managing it for wild flowers ever since. Over that time the fertility of the soil has gradually dropped, reducing the vigour of the grass and allowing wild flowers to flourish. A hay crop is cut in late July or August, giving time for the plants to seed. We didn't sow any of these plants - they just appeared over time. |
Here is a list of the flowers and grasses in the orchard. We haven't sown any of them - they have just appeared.
Flowers Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum Bird's Foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus Black Bryony Dioscorea communis Common Mouse-ear Cerastium fontanum Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris Dandelion Taraxum officinale Daisy Bellis perennis Dog-rose Rosa canina Hawkweed Heracium species Knapweed Centaurea nigra Lesser Yellow Trefoil Trifolium dubium Lords & Ladies Arum maculatum Meadow Buttercup Ranunculus acris Ox-eye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare Red Clover Trifolium pratense Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanciolata Speedwell Veronica officinalis Spotted orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii White Violet Viola odorata 'Alba' Wild Clary Salvia verbenaca Yarrow Achillea millefolium Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor Grasses Annual Meadow-grass Poa annua Barren Brome Bromus sterilis Cocksfoot Dactylis glomerata Common Bent Agrostis capillaris Creeping Soft-grass Holcus mollis Crested Dog's tail Cynosurus cristatus False Brome Brachypodium sylvaticum False Oat-grass Arrheatherum elatius Meadow Foxtail Alopecurus pratensis Red Fescue Festuca rubra Rough Meadow-grass Poa trivialis Ryegrass Lolium perenne Soft Brome Bromus hordaceus Sweet Vernal-grass Anthoxanthum odoratum Timothy Phleum pratense Tufted Hair grass Deschampsia cespitosa Yorkshire Fog Holcus lanata |