Where do you think today’s picture was taken? Park maybe? Garden? This is National Trust land – devoted to creating a meadow. I wonder how you see this snapshot. Do you see the flowers, the splash of yellow brightness. Perhaps you think the grass needs cutting & it spoils the flowers. Hands up anyone who spotted the insect on the ox eye daisy!

I have wanted to visit this meadow for a while. This month & next is the optimum time as the meadow is mown late July. I think it is amazing & demonstrates what can be achieved in a field. It wasn’t a sunny day but the buzz of bees & numerous butterflies dancing by were testimony to the success of this area.

I am ashamed to say I recognise few wild flowers by name, but I love the diversity of plants growing happily here. It was tempting to pick a flower to bring home to identify, but I resisted & instead took countless photos to try & name the assorted flowers. I realise too grassed have many varieties – they are not all green! I confess I love those with red shades & they blend so well with the natural display of colour you see here.

Our local authority have decided to try & create small meadow areas across our city’s open spaces & parks. These are still in their infancy, but to my gardener’s eye they are not a success. In the park they look wild – unkept, neglected. A sign saying it’s for the benefit of butterflies doesn’t make it any better!

Open spaces near houses look even  worse. Here long grass can also attract other wildlife that is perhaps best deterred from residential areas. To me it is simply a cost cutting exercise. Our city boasts hanging basket displays for visitors to admire & enjoy, bedding displays continue to carpet our parks & a few major roundabouts. Rough areas of grass randomly situated in a park are not meadows. This amazing place I visited is a meadow – a joy to see & explore.