This time last year, various groups in Eynsham started the preparation of Eynsham's small meadows, helped by individuals across the village. These meadows are in Dovehouse Close, St Leonard's Churchyard, the Fishponds, Peace Oak Orchard (which had a year's head start) and a number of private greens around Eynsham. In order to maximise long-term success, we took the precaution of sowing only yellow rattle seed last year. This annual plant is a semi-parasite on grass and so reduces it's growth. This means that when we eventually sow the wildflower seed this autumn, it won't be shaded by vigorous grasses and should grow well next summer. What it also means is that, although the butterflies and bees and other pollinators were probably delighted with the different species that flourished in the meadows this summer, these were not typical meadow flowers. Humans, not in the know, might have been disappointed.
To ensure a good show, various groups have been growing wildflowers in pots over the last year, to plant into the meadows, so that we should have a good display. The Eynsham Society sponsored £150 of cowslip plugs in the spring which have been carefully nurtured by Long Mead's care-farming group with Eynsham residents and will be ready to plant out in the Playing Fields. The Dovehouse group have been nurturing seeds gathered from Long Mead. Anne Gingell has been cultivating foxgloves and other species for the churchyard. Julia Shay has propagated heartsease that have been planted out in a number of sites.
Come and join us for the final stages of preparation and learn some new skills:
Learn to survey Eynsham's new Meadows and extend your plant ID skills.
Sunday 8th August 2.30-pm to 4.30pm
In preparation for the final stage of Eynsham’s new meadow creation, we are running a Botanical Survey Workshop hosted by Peace Oak Orchard and led by Catriona Bass and Alison Muldal of Long Mead's Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project.
Places are limited please register on the NRN website. To encourage you all to sign up to the NRN website and reduce the administration of multiple mailing lists, we are charging £5 for non-members. NRN Membership is £10 and entitles you to free or discounted events going forward.
Calling all scythers: beginners and beyond!
Sunday 15th August, 2pm to 6pm
New scythers: Learn to scythe and help with the restoration of Eynsham's new meadows.
Existing scythers: Bring your skills (and scythe if you have one) to mow our new meadows and help the beginners.
A scything workshop will be hosted by Peace Oak Orchard and led Catriona Bass and Kevan Martin from Long Mead. We will teach the basics of scything in the Peace Oak meadow and then we will hone our skills on the small Dovehouse Close, Fishponds and St Leonard's Churchyard meadows.
The hay will be left on the ground for the seed to drop out for a couple of days. Then we will gather it up and scarify and roll as we did last year.
We are hoping that you will become as addicted to the therapeutic art of scything as we are and we can form a great team to mow Eynsham's tiny meadows in the time-honoured tradition, far into the future.
Places are limited as we don't have unlimited scythes so please register on the NRN website. If you would like to learn to scythe for your own purposes, rather than to help manage Eynsham's meadows, please let us know and we might be able to organise a separate workshop.
To encourage you all to sign up to the NRN website and reduce the administration of multiple mailing lists, we are charging £5 for non-members. NRN Membership is £10 and entitles you to free or discounted events going forward. Our 'experts' are volunteering their time.
Join in the wildflower sowing and planting
Sunday 5th September 2pm to 6pm
Eynsham's small meadows at Dovehouse Close, Peace Oak Orchard, St Leonard's Churchyard and the Fishponds, which have been in preparation for a year, will receive their final sowing of wildflower seeds.
Come and join us to sow these meadows for the future. Help us plant out the wildflowers that have been grown in pots over the last year by the Dovehouse Close meadow group and Long Mead care-farming group as well as individuals throughout the village.
Our local experts will be on hand to give advice on growing wildflowers in your own gardens.
Please register on the NRN website
If you have difficulty registering please email.