Fantastic wildflower nectar mix strip around margins of arable fields, absolutely buzzing with bees! (c) Claire Spicer
Where to see wildflower meadows
Herefordshire is blessed with wonderful wildflower meadows offering a rare window to a landscape now long forgotten in today's intensively farmed countryside. Protection from the deep plough, modern fertilisers and seed mixes has preserved a stunning array of wild flowers in our nature reserves.
Birches Farm
Birches Farm is the largest and most floristically rich nature reserve, featuring a fantastic display of wildflowers throughout the spring, summer, even into autumn. Starting with lady’s smock and early purple orchids then bird’s foot trefoil, common spotted orchid, devil’s bit scabious and harebell over the summer, ending with meadow saffron in the autumn. These wildflower meadows are home to many rare butterflies and lots of different invertebrates.
Six-spotted burnet moth on Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
Davies Meadows
These herb-rich hay meadows are a delight on a summer’s day. As you wander across the three hay meadows, there’s a sea of colour from the varied wildflowers – yellow rattle, pignut, black knapweed, devil’s bit scabious to name a few – with the six-spotted burnet moth cruising close to the meadow surface. The crested dogstail and sweet vernal grasses here are indicators of an old meadow.
Davies Meadows in Summer (c) Paul Lloyd
Stockings Meadow
By managing this meadow in the traditional way, without the use of herbicides or pesticides, has enabled the native wildflowers to thrive and here you’ll find damp loving plants such as ragged robin, marsh marigold and angelica in the dip as well as those suited to thin soils such as green-winged orchids, bugle and devil’s bit scabious on the steeper slopes.
Cethins & Little Marises
These two meadows sit side-by-side near Michaelchurch Escley where there are a number of excellent wildflower meadows in the area. More unusual plants include eyebright, southern marsh orchid and adders tongue fern, as well as those typical of a hay meadow – yellow rattle, bird’s foot trefoil and oxeye daisy.
Common spotted orchid at Cethins Meadow
Common Hill
The many ant-hills here indicate an old grassland and the thin calcareous soils are home to swathes of lime-loving wildflowers not commonly seen in Herefordshire. These include milkwort, wild thyme, burnet saxifrage, common rock-rose and marjoram. The sunny sheltered conditions create ideal conditions for many insects, see how many different kinds of butterfly you can spot, over 20 species have been recorded!
North Meadow, Common Hill Nature Reserve (Paul Lloyd)