Meadow Maintenance
Over the last three years we have transformed huge areas of our grasslands into floral carpets and improved many of our established meadows, one of the reasons we do this is to improve the bio-diversity. This is crucially important because over the past 60 years Britain has lost over 97% of its floral meadows and within that only 1% is maintained correctly. The knock on effect is a huge reduction in our wildlife populations. 31% of wildlife populations have reduced by half over 50 years with butterflies, bees and moths bearing the brunt of the damage. These are the creatures that pollinate our food and are required for us to survive.
It’s not only fauna that’s struggling as a result but also the plants themselves, 1 in 5 is now under threat from disappearing. To help play our part and educate as many visitors as we can, we’re holding a celebration of meadows this July which starts off on ‘National Meadow Day’ which is Saturday 2 July and runs until Friday 29 July.
The orchard meadow
The orchard is a large meadow containing old Kentish fruit trees. In summer it has tall grasses and creates the restful atmosphere of an English meadow. It is one of our most prominent meadows on the property and the cuckoo flower has begun to bloom along with the buttercup and dandelion, but in years past it has never been one for high flora diversity.
