Grow to Glow

Here at Grow to Glow we use beautiful local beeswax in our products. The honey scent is gorgeous. Beeswax is the perfect ingredient for skin products and it's all about quality, we have the bees to thank. Summers in the UK were buzzing pre second world war and since then the UK has lost 97% of it's wildflower habitats according to a study by Plantlife. Wildflowers and grasses make up a habitat of huge importance to native birds, bees and other pollinators, butterflies and ourselves. These pollinator friendly plants are intrinsic to our food production. Research suggests the wild honey bee has gone from England and Wales. This extract from Butterfly Conservation is a strong reminder of the damage that has been done.

'Ten-year trends show that 52% of species decreased in abundance and 47% decreased in occurrence. While this indicates a generally improving situation, the declines of some threatened species (e.g. Wood White, White Admiral) show little signs of abating and, worryingly, populations of some common species (e.g. Gatekeeper, Essex Skipper) have dwindled in recent years. Even for those species where declines have recently been halted, population levels and distributions are much smaller than they once were. The conservation of the UK’s butterflies remains an enormous challenge.'

Britain's wildflowers are disappearing. Industrial farming, pollution, the rise of fertilising, the loss of hay making and the rise of silage production are contributing to a dramatic decrease in wildflower species. Interestingly gardens, churchyards, waste lands and railway verges in urban areas are now often providing a safe haven for wildlife as our countryside becomes increasingly manicured and sprayed under industrial agriculture.

I went out in early summer with Dr Ruth Starr-Keddle, the AONB Partnership’s Nectarworks Project Officer, botanist, conservationist and meadow expert, to help with the surveying of meadows she has worked to enhance and potential 'donor' meadows. Keeping traditional hay meadow farming alive in the North Pennines to protect these rare landscapes and working to increase the biodiversity of them is vital conservation work. The importance of planting wildflowers and protecting areas still in existence is huge! I was lucky enough to visit places where many rare species grow, it was an uplifting experience. When we left I felt emotional, it is so sad that species once frequent in our countryside and a joy for everyone are now extinct or classified as rare. I felt inspired to get planting myself!

We were given some yellow rattle and some red clover by our meadow expert friend but we invested in some next day delivery packs of seed we ordered online, easy peasy. There was a range to choose from depending on your soil type and what you like. Our site is in a garden, it's a scrub area of roughly 40m sq on a fairly narrow bank, but you could plant 1m sq and that would be wonderful! Scarifying is often used to scratch away at a field or lawn area to expose earth and prepare for planting. Otherwise, especially when working in gardens with beds or from scratch you can opt to simply clear the area as you would a bed leaving the exposed earth.

Dave, Peter and I get to work. The thick mat of scrub and tightly packed grasses on our bank which has very poor soil and is on the site of an old brick works proves easier to tackle using a mattock! We decide as the soil is so dry and only a thin layer of topsoil, to leave islands of the existing wild flowers we find, poppies, evening primrose, self heal, white clover and others, to preserve beneficial species growing there and also to prevent erosion. Weaving through, swinging the mattock we discover 'mindful mattocking' is satisfying and surprisingly quick.We tackled the deeper rooted thistles and docks with a garden fork. The effect is somewhere between bare ground and scarifying.

 Now we've prepped the ground for planting the next step is to mix the seed with sand for easy broadcasting, spread the seed, compress into the earth and wait! In the first year some of the flowers will show with a more varied display in the second year! This is a long term project, we plan to plant more in other areas by the end of the month, including a small patch in our garden. We will let you know of the results.

The Joy of planting wildflowers is they prefer poor soil and minimal cuttings, so once implemented, it's a low maintenance yet beautiful and bird and bee friendly option. Have a go at planting wildflowers yourself if you haven't already, it is the season! It's great to create a wildflower strip, make a lawn beautiful or fill an entire garden, creating walkways and seating areas within it! Plant by early October at the latest before the earth cools down. It's easy to find seed at lots of outlets, there is next day delivery on seed at KissMyGrass so you could get some by tomorrow. Happy planting.

We'd love to see your wildflower projects, post to Grow to Glow facebook page to inspire others,