We’re planning to create a little ‘Bee World’ of wildlfowers in Ransom’s Rec meadow this autumn, but to start things off, we’re conducting a little experiment with sunflowers …
Sunflowers are very hungry plants and take up loads of nutrients from the soil in one season – the idea behind planting them first is to reduce the fertility of the soil so the low-nutrient-loving wildflowers will be able to compete against the established grasses. See what Alys Fowler has to say about them, here. Plus there is the added bonus that sunflowers look amazing!
Last month we invited local school children from William Ransom School and the 17th Hitchin Beavers to help us with the growing and planting of the sunflowers. We’ve created a spiral mown path interplanted with sunflowers of all shapes and sizes – when they have died down we will plant our wildflowers in their place. The bees will love both so it’s win-win plan. Hopefully we’ll get enough sun this summer to allow the sunflowers to thrive – fingers crossed for a bright July!