Our beautiful meadow

Well the week of rain has brought things on a treat, and the wildflower meadow looks perfect this year. Plenty of good robust orchids and masses of yellow rattle, which is the secret of a good hay meadow. The plant is semi parasitic on grasses and feeds off their roots reducing vigour and allowing the flowers to thrive. It varies in vigour itself depending on how much grass there is to go at and so we see a cycle from one year to another.
The bumblebees are loving it this year, particularly the Garden Bumblebee which has a long tongue that can reach right down the throat of the rattle.