YCV in the community

Spring turns to Summer...

Encouraging wild flowers encourages all wildlife.

Wild flowers are a joy to see as Spring turns to Summer.

‘Ne’er cast a clout till May is out….’ Is an old saying that doesn’t refer to the month of May but to the blossom of the Hawthorn tree appearing in spring – seeing the blossom come out in the hedgerows means you can take your winter coat off as the weather is getting warmer.

Wild plants are the basis of all the food chains found around you. The greater the variety of wild plants, the greater the variety of other wild life. Bees, butterflies and beetles will be visiting flowers to collect pollen and nectar as food. Other plants will be used for laying eggs on and as hibernation places in winter. The insects and seeds produced by the flowers are food for birds and small mammals and in turn they are food for bigger animals.

Not all flowers are pretty colours and some you wouldn’t notice at all. It is the ones you don’t notice that will be the cause of most hay fever as these plants are pollinated by the wind and not by insects. As the microscopic pollen is blown from plant to plant it is also goes up your nose and in your eyes.

YCV will often be found planting bulbs and sowing seeds to increase the variety and number of wild flowers around Yaxley. A good example is the bank behind the Pavilion in the Rec. This is managed by YCV to keep as wide a variety of plants there as possible. This does mean we have to control nettles and thistles etc and add more seeds of native wild flower species each year. Some garden plants will find their way into the patch and generally we tolerate those as pollinators will visit them too. We will mow most of the area in Autumn after seeds have been set but do leave some sections for winter hibernation habitat.

We can all do our part to allow more flowers to flourish and would encourage everyone to find a patch in their garden for wild flowers and perhaps join in with ‘no mow May’.

If you would like to help us with our work supporting local wild life then do get in touch.