Summer Drought on Jubilee Meadow
14th August 2026 Newsletter
The purple flowers amongst the daisies are corncockle. Ed Cross provided the seeds from Abbey Farm at Flitcham. We had quite a display this summer.
The glory days on the Meadow this year were April, May and June. The severe drought conditions meant that our wildflowers flowered early and were pretty well finished by early July.
Still, it was quite a show while it lasted. Definitely the best year so far, with relatively uncommon annuals, such as corncockle, (thanks,Ed),showing well amongst the poppies, daises and cornflowers.
Lots of teasels at the moment, which means plenty of food for the flocks of young goldfinches which are gathering.
The Water Carriers!
It is proving to be a tough year out there, but we are encouraged by the ever increasing band of volunteers, who turn up regularly to water the trees. Thank goodness for the 1000 litre container and hosepipe which we bought last year.We would be lost without it. There has scarcely been any rain in the village since the end of March, so we have increased the amount of watering to two sessions a week.
The results are encouraging. We have lost a few trees, mainly transplants from elsewhere, rather than purchased trees. Others, which we had almost given up on, are recovering remarkably with extra water, fertiliser and mulch all being applied.
You are very welcome to join the volunteers. The session usually takes no more than one and a half hours on weekday mornings.
Ronan, Billy, Colin and John. Key members of the Water Carriers!
Robert Goddard pictured with his faithful Land Rover without which there would be no watering.
Common darter and green-veined white butterfly. Just some of the wide range of species now found on Jubilee Meadow.
Annual Maintenance
Now the summer is slowly drawing to a close, we turn to our Annual Maintenance programme. September is a month of great activity when we bring in contractors to carry out a cut and lift on the whole meadow. The annual strip is rotavated and a seedbed is prepared for more annuals to be sown in November. Another chance to volunteer and see the results of your labour!
Self-Seeded Wildflowers
These annuals self-seeded in the area where last year’s cut and lift was dumped before being carted away. Hopefully, this is a sign that the meadow will reproduce itself after a few years careful maintenance. Your volunteers are banking on it!