A traditional hay meadow

Its been really wet here so to cheer myself up I thought I'd post some pictures of a lovely hay meadow taken last week before the wet weather.

This meadow was owned by farmer, Ron Ward who used no chemicals on the land. On his death it was left to a wildlife trust who are managing it traditionally so that the mixture of wild flowers will be maintained. The hay is cut late so that the flower seeds have chance to set and it is also grazed.

There were many different flowers though I could only take photos of the ones near the edge of the meadow so as not to trample down the long grass. I also saw loads of butterflies but they didn't stay still long enough for me to photograph them!

buttercups

red clover

hayrattle

sorrel

The whole meadow was full of flowers and it is great to know that this little bit of traditional flower-rich grassland is being preserved by careful management. One hundred years or more ago, meadows like this would have been a common sight in the countryside.