In 1996 we purchased land adjacent to our garden with a view to creating a wildflower meadow. The land had been used as grazing pasture and unknown to us, was quite fertile; not at all what you want for a wildflower meadow!

Several years ago we visited Great Dixter and whilst there, asked Fergus Garrett if he would sign Christopher Lloyd's book on meadows, he wrote "It's not as easy as it looks";  how accurate he was! Whilst giving us much pleasure, the meadow has been a constant challenge.

Our first task was to clear the land of all the rubbish and then rotavate it. We then left it a season  to allow the weeds to germinate; these were hoed off before seeding with a wildflower meadow mix. The outcome was disappointing as only course grass flourished with hardly a wildflower in sight. Yellow rattle, a semi-parasitic plant that feeds on the roots of course grass, was our salvation. Over a period of years we purchased many kilos of the seed and in eight years reduced the hay harvest by half; no wonder farmers discourage it!

 As we have created a Summer meadow the grass  is cut towards the end of August, then raked and left to dry. Drying and raking the hay enables the seed to be released; when we are satisfied that most of the seed has dropped, the hay is removed.

All the flowers in the meadow grow in the locality,the first to  show are the wild daffodils which have increased year by year.  Snakeshead fritillary and cowslips come together followed   by a variety of meadow flowers including ragged robin, wild carrot. yellow rattle, bettony, and common spotted orchid.

The meadow is a haven for wildlife attracting many species of butterflies and moths as well as providing a home for small mammals and a nesting site for pheasants.