Melverly Meadows

[Fogey]

I've been looking for a meadow that has soley been used to grow wild flowers and have finally found one near Whitchurch, called Melverly Meadows.

The history of the place is on the Welcome sign -  the only thing being it's not very welcoming to the disabled.  If you can't walk you can't visit; it's as simple as that.

However, from what I did manage to see is that there are indeed some large meadows that are teemong with wild flowers.  I just missed the Cowslip season, the evidence was there with all the Cowslips in seed.  A bit later on in the year the predominant colour will be blue
 

 

 

The meadow goes beyond the trees.

 

 

 

 

The purple flowers are common spotted orchids.

[CMunzel]

How interesting. are the yellow flowers, Dandelions?

[Fogey]

No, the vast majority were meadow buttercup, Golden Aster and Cowslips.

[Clicker]

My sister has her garden inundated with Hawkweed ... an orange member of the dandelion family. This her first Summer there having moved last September and  her lawns are just covered with them ... I had never seen them before  ... she may have a job getting rid of them ... especially avoiding using  chemicals .....It is very invasive it seems ... and  doesn't need to be pollinated to produce seeds as apparently  the plants use apomictic reproduction. Though the pollen of hawkweed may serve no direct function in the reproductive process of the hawkweed, when the pollen is transferred to other plants by bees or other pollinators, it kills their embryos.!! ...  The hawkweed pollen stops their competitors from producing seeds.  By killing  the offspring of other plant species, it reduces the competition for space and resources for the seeds of the hawkweed.  Nasty little beggars  !

Looks like it's a bit of a thug and  is considered a noxious  pest in Australia and USA .