The Meadow - One Year On

The meadow is such a massive part of the microWild project. One of our primary goals is to provide an invertebrate-friendly meadow environment filled with native wildflowers.

In November of 2023, with the help of an enthusiastic team of volunteers from ReWild Wicklow, we sowed one hundred and four metre-squared patches of Yellow Rattle into the meadow. Yellow Rattle (known as the Meadow Maker) is a hemi-parasitic native wildflower which retards grass growth by attaching its roots to the grass roots and feeding off the nutrients. 

Yellow Rattle is a somewhat temperamental wildflower and requires exacting conditions to ensure its growth, and, as luck would have it, it absolutely flourished in the meadow, providing beautiful yellow patches to gaze upon over the summer. And bonus points because the Bumblebees loved it!

We let the flower spread its seed naturally at the end of summer, and we look forward to an increase in the number of plants by summer 2025. Fingers crossed.

In October of this year, we arranged for a 'hay cut' of the meadow which means that the grass is cut and then lifted from the site. This will ensure that the ground becomes less fertile over time. Fertile ground means more grass, whereas infertile ground will give the native wildflowers the opportunity to take hold, and eventually, take over.

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