The "urban flower meadow" in my last entry is really no such thing. Rather it is a small patch of waste ground colonised by wildflower/weeds, notably various 'pioneer' species that spread quickly on bare and disturbed soils.
There is however a fashion for creating urban meadows. A nice idea but sometimes disappointing in practice as seen above. Several large areas of this parkland were scalped of grass and seeded with wildflower species last autumn. [see entry dated 2nd. November 2023]
As of last week not much to see. The grass (probably a rye grass) recovered rapidly and the seed did not take. It can be done, as seen here at the music school:
Ox-eye Daisy was in full flower a couple of weeks ago when this photo was taken. Greater Knapweed is growing strongly at the moment. It's not possible to recreate the delicate balance of an ancient turf but vigorous species like these can prosper and multiply.
I suspect the success of this new meadow is that it was seeded into an area that had been an old lawn that itself had meadow characteristics. For one thing our ancient meadows do not contain rye grass which is a very effective ground cover.
It is ironic that derelict land generally becomes a cornucopia of wild flowers whereas planned meadows often do not.
