Damp Meadows & Waysides of Istria

A groomed, grassy field can be good for certain uses, like sports or picnics. But for broader «ecosystem services»—things like plant pollination, pest control, soil quality, and climate regulation—the smart money is in meadows.

Tulips are popular around the World, often known as the soul of Spring, and historically symbolic for perfect love. Finding the perfect Tulip for your location can often be challenging, particularly as many of Tulip cultivar’s are fussy and short-lived.

Owen Wormser’s popular 2020 book “Lawns into Meadows: Growing a Regenerative Landscape” (affiliate link) is just out in a new second edition. Owen is a landscape designer at Abound Design, his firm based in Western Massachusetts, and we talked about the life of a meadow and its maintenance. Meadows are not an overnight project, nor are they something that remains static and unchanging, I am reminded.Plus: Enter to win a copy of the second edition of his book by commenting in the box near the bottom of the page.Read along as you listen to the April 17, 2023 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts her

It’s a kitchen mishap many home cooks experience: You’re preparing your vegetables for a delicious homemade dinner, and during the slicing and dicing process, they never want to stay in one place. Thankfully, there’s a hack that ensures you won’t have to deal with this annoyance ever again: stabilizing your cutting board with a kitchen towel. Because you likely already have one in your kitchen, it’s extremely easy to make into a regular habit. Here’s how it works.

Whether it was steeply sloping meadows of Orlaya grandiflora, the brilliant blues of Salvia pratensis and Nice milkwort, or Dittany dotted grasslands there was always something to keep me interested. Lanes were lined with starbursts of Dianthus carthusianorum, the deadly poisonous Swallowwort was deceptively attractive and the flowers of wild lettuce looked much nicer than the bitter taste of the somewhat narcotic leaves. Among the plants I would happily have in my garden was the large-flowered Austrian flax, the lovely purple-flowered Jurinea and a rather fine cerise-flowered clover. Of course, the chances of them growing in a coastal garden in the south-east of England are remote, but I can dream.  

Whatever the habitat we were in, it was the diversity that was so exciting. With little human intervention, there was a balance that meant no single species dominated and every step revealed new species that gradually changed with the terrain evolving into perfect conditions for another array of plants. Close to the sea, a me

Celebrating Wildflower Meadows Although it is far too late for many ancient British wildflower meadows lost to modern agricultural methods, some do survive to remind us of their glorious biodiversity. Pioneering work has been done to re-establish some, but most of us have come to realise that turning our gardens into flowery meads is an impractical dream too far.

Coneflowers are known for their striking beauty and vibrant colors. Their large, showy petals and cone-shaped centers make them a stunning addition to any garden. Also called Echinacea, here are various Types of Coneflower Varieties you can grow.

While we read books on the subject, remove topsoil and sow yellow rattle to reduce fertility and generally make a meal of establishing a wildflower meadow, Nature (when not interfered with) does it sublimely well. The meadows of the Picos d’Europa  are no exception. ..

This easier-to-grow alternative to wildflower meadows (especially for gardens) really has come into its own this year.  I’ve recently seen two fine examples with very different colour themes.  At Holt Farm,

I did have the opportunity to see four shrubs that do grow in my garden in their native habitats – I wasn’t surprised to see the white-flowered Cistus monspeliensis close to the coast, nor the lovely Etruscan honeysuckle, but cotinus grew in abundance on rocky slopes and coronillas provided splashes of yellow along the roadsides. ..

We have just returned from a week revelling in the abundance of wild flowers, birds and butterflies of Istria. We try and do one of these holidays somewhere in Europe each year with the specialist wildlife travel company Naturetrek (We pay – this is not an advertorial!). I love to see plants in their native habitats, partly because it helps me grow them better in my own garden, but mainly because my idea of heaven is to wander through meadows, explore woodlands and climb to high places to see what grows there in the company of botanists who know more than I do. A quick note of apology for the lac