Day two of our wildflower meadow work and we got another 12 mtr by 4 mtr block cleared. Marcus did most of the clearing work and Mick started digging up bramble roots.

Looking up and down from the picnic bench and the clearing is starting to take shape. We had forgotten that we had planted trees in the bit facing south, but it will add to the area, I am sure.

What we are very aware of, is that we don’t want to create a huge area straight away and then be unable to manage it next summer. So we will stick with 200 square metres and really keep on top of it, in terms of weeding out anything that is going to try to dominate. The main culprits will be bramble, nettles and rose-bay willow-herb. We can add another 200 square metres next autumn and kind of carry on over the next few years. We are never going to have rolling acres of glorious meadow because we are confined by our width, but I do feel that we are making the most of what we have got.

The other side of the path is ready to be cleared.

I started on this towards the end of today and it is quite easy to clear.

It is really important to keep the scrub at a good width at the edges. Small mammals will have cover from owls and other predators and, the fruit that it produces is vital for so many species of wildlife.

We need to bring mattocks and rakes next week and really get the earth as bare as possible before putting our seed mix down.

Great work today.

Paul