July
July was named after Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, who was born on 12th July. However, the Romani name for July is Kaseskero, meaning ‘month of hay’ and the Anglo Saxons called it Heymonath - Hay Month. You may have seen fields being cut for hay or silage for some weeks now. Traditional haymeadows are not cut until this time of year, as the first of the wildflowers go to seed.
Cornflowers amongst a mini meadow road verge
Magnificent mini meadows
In the UK, National Meadows Day is on the first Saturday in July. It’s a time to celebrate wildflower meadows across the UK. There aren’t so many of them these days and where they do exist, they are often little deserted islands of food and shelter, making it difficult for wildlife populations to grow. Humans don’t seem to have the same problem! We just keep on growing, building and spreading our networks so we can provide for ourselves. Nature needs that too - networks of food and shelter, all joined up across large areas. There are ways in which we can make space for nature alongside us if we stop to think about it and have a go. I started last year.
Wildflower meadow seeds ready to go in
Roadside verges can be mini meadows - this was ours July 2020
We dug out turf and grasses to create patches of wildflower meadow in our back garden and along our lane. In July we were rewarded with a colourful show of cornflowers and poppies which continued to flower until October. I worked at the areas again in the autumn, cutting back and clearing the summer growth, digging out a bit more turf and treading in more seed. This year we’ve had ox eye daisy, red clover, red campion, birds foot trefoil, yellow rattle, sorrel and now the poppies and cornflowers are just coming through.
Have a look at this fantastic leaflet from the Magnificent Meadows website - where could you add a mini-meadow near you?
There were once natural wildflower meadows in every parish – today only 2% of the meadows that existed in the 1930’s remain. Does that shock you? I reckon we can all do something to help reverse those figures.
Cornflowers
One of my favourite July wildflowers is the cornflower. Their straggly stems and flimsy leaves don’t promise much but when they flower, they punctuate grasses with a striking bold blue.
The wild blue cornflower holds symbolism which doesn’t sit well with me- an emblem for the far-right nationalists in 19th century Germany, for example. The thing about myths, legends and symbolism is - who decides? Anyone can make up what they want, give it a meaning and pass it on.
So I hereby declare that cornflowers are a symbol of love, happiness and friendship. They were the flowers of my wedding, grown by my friends and brought, in bundles, to fill every conceivable jar and bottle available. They will forever be a happy flower.
Cornflowers and sweet peas grown by friends for our wedding
In herbal medicine, cornflowers have anti-inflammatory properties. Made into eye lotions and creams to relieve tired eyes or bottled as skin toner or bath water to soothe and soften skin. In France, cornflowers are used as an anti-inflammatory eye wash called Eau de Casse-Lunettes, which literally means ‘broken glasses water’! Make of that what you will.
Bumblebees
I’ve been learning more about bumblebees- they’re the cute big furry bees which are wild, not the smaller honey bees. They really do bumble along, from flower to flower, collecting pollen as they go.
Bumblebees are also struggling for survival – not surprising given the lack of wildflower meadows across the UK. There are many different types of bumblebee, which can be identified according to the colours on their bodies- some have ginger, some yellow and some have white tails. Some have 2 yellow stripes some have ginger thorax and a white tail, and so it goes on- several combinations of colour.
A tree bumblebee on catmint
The one I really want to see is the rarest one and that’s the bilberry bumblebee. It has a yellow stripe at the top of its thorax and a ginger abdomen, all the way to its tail. It’s a rare moor and mountain bee, feeding on bilberry flowers when they are out in spring. The problem after that is, there aren’t many nectar-rich flowers on the moors until mid to late August when the heather’s in bloom. Without a plentiful supply of food, the bilberry bumblebees head further afield, across several miles. If you live near moorland keep a look out for them in your gardens or among wildflowers between May and August. They particularly like clover, raspberry and bramble flowers so keep the clover in your grass and don’t dig all your brambles out - save some for the Bilberry Bumblebees!
Wildflower meadows, cornflowers and bumblebees - doesn’t that sound like nature’s celebration of summer? Let’s make next year’s summer celebrations even bigger with a little autumn meadow planting…