A wildflower meadow in late summer

Gardens to Visit, nature, wildflowers

As I mentioned in an earlier post here, the Coronation Garden, close to where I live, is home to a beautiful wildflower meadow. I’m a regular visitor, not only because it’s so pretty, but because I love to photograph it too. I thought I’d share some photographs from recent visits in August to this native wildflower meadow.

About the meadow

The wildflower meadow starts to bloom in mid spring and continues flowering right through until around November. And, during that time, a range of different wildflowers will bloom. Early in the year, the meadow is fresh and green and crisp. It’s full of vibrant corncockles and poppies. Now, in late summer, the meadow takes on a different feeling altogether. The green stems of spring have been replaced with more muted tones as golden grasses come to the fore. And you notice that the fresh flowers of June have gone to seed. The wildflowers of late summer sit amongst a swathe of seedheads as the meadow gradually mellows towards the end of summer.

Beauty in a wildflower meadow

Here are some of the wildflowers I’ve captured on recent visits. Which one is your favourite?

Perhaps this is my favourite. It’s wild carrot. A beautiful white umbellifer with a lacy green collar. It comes from the same family as cow parsley. And like cow parsley, it’s very photogenic.

Wild carrot in a wildflower meadow

a single wild carrot flower in a soft light

Or, perhaps scabious, the pincushion flower, is my favourite. There are little pockets of these flowers growing in the meadow. They are easy to miss, nestled low to the ground as they are, amongst the abundance of grasses and seedheads.

Scabious flower

Of course, there are always the daisies. Seemingly, daisies can survive wind, rain, whatever the weather throws at them. They just keep going. I love them.

Wonderful daisies

Another wildflower I found growing in the meadow is achillea (also known as yarrow). Apparently, it’s named after Achilles, the Greek mythical hero who used it to stop the bleeding of his soldiers’ wounds. It grows quite prolifically in the countryside here.

Achillea amongst the seedheads of corncockle

And last, but by no means least, I found some poppies. Little pockets of them here and there, still flowering, their vibrant red flowers giving a real pop of colour amongst the yellowing grasses.

Not to be missed – the poppies

Before November

Speaking to the head gardener on my last visit, he explained that they plan to cut back the meadow in November. And, as part of that process, they’ll distribute the seed as widely as possible to give it the best start for next year. Between now and then, as we head into autumn, the meadow will mature and mellow further before the cycle ends for this year. Hopefully, there is a cold spell before November, so I can capture all those lovely seedheads laced with frost.

Thanks for stopping by. You can find some useful information on wildflower meadows here

Paula