There's a hedgerow and bramble border around the edge, with plenty of nettles where butterflies can lay their eggs. The meadow attracts a huge variety of butterflies,dragonflies, bugs, beetles, and other invertebrates, and these in turn draw in the local small mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. You might even see a buzzard or owl searching overhead for small prey.

The meadow is still mown occasionally, to discourage woody vegetation and to maintain it as an open meadow ecosystem. Cattle have commonly grazed on the meadow, and the cut vegetation is also useful as a source of forage for livestock.

Guy Lucas talks about the Wildflower Meadow in late summer.

Link to Season Guide (below) on Castle Website

The changes that occur when the meadow is mown or used as pastureland can be quite dramatic. Contrast the photos below to see the incredible regenerative capacity of the wildflower meadow after nearly all of its vegetative cover has been mown for hay or grazed away by livestock.

How many of these important wildflowers can you find in our meadow?

Adder's tongue fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum). Wikimedia Commons.	Betony (Stachys officinalis). Agnieszka Kwiecień, license: CC-BY 3.0
Birds foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus). Sandy Wolkenberg	Dyer's greenweed (Genista tinctoria). Robert Flogaus-Faust.
Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa). Tournasol7	Common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii). Keith Edkins
Crested dogtail grass (Cynosurus cristatus). Stephen James McWilliam	Fairy flax (Linum catharticum) Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
Field woodrush (Luzula campestris). Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz	Goat's beard (Tragopogon pratensis) Enrico Blasutto
Pepper saxifrage (Silaum silaus) Robert Flogaus-Faust	Quaking grass (Briza media) Bernd Haynold
Sweet Vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz	Grass Vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia) Phil Sellens, East Sussex

Can you find and name these common meadow wildflowers?

(Tap image once to to identify; tap image a second time to enlarge the image)