July: Celebration of Summer
A wander through wildflower meadows, pops of blue cornflowers and buzzing bumblebees- doesn’t that sound like nature’s celebration of summer?
The Romani name for July is Kaseskero, meaning ‘month of hay’ and the Anglo Saxons called it Heymonath- Hay Month. Harvest may be celebrated in Autumn but July is the time to celebrate haymeadows. You may have seen fields cut for silage for some weeks now. Traditional haymeadows are left late for cutting to allow the first of the wildflowers go to seed, making for a richer, flower-filled meadow the following year.
In the UK, National Meadows Day is on the first Saturday in July. There aren’t so many of them these days and where they do exist, they are often little deserted meadow islands, 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 ourselves out. Nature needs to do that too-build networks of food and shelter, 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 two years ago.
Common spotted orchids in a meadow
Making meadows
At home we dug out grasses to create patches of wildflower meadow in our back garden and along the road verge next to our house. Each summer a colourful show of cornflowers and poppies burst out and flowered until October. I wanted to do more in our area so I created a few pockets of wildflowers along the lane. It was hard work on my own! Last summer I posted fliers through neighbourhood letterboxes to see who else might want to help. Rewarded by positive responses, I set up a nature WhatsApp group which is fab! I used it initially to get people out to help. Over several Sundays in late summer and Autumn, we gathered and worked; we cut back grasses on the verges, raked back to bare soil then trod in masses of yellow rattle seeds and finished off with a mix of wildflower meadow seeds. It became a social opportunity too. More recent ‘incomers’ and long-standing residents caught up with each other- that feeling of not having seen people for too long was apparent. The Thursday NHS rainbow nights had got us out but then we all disappeared back into our own lives. Since our autumnal Sunday work parties, group members have shared amazing nature photos, great walks, personal updates, ongoing ailments and more. Naturally it was the first place to share photos of the yellow rattle we planted blooming happily in May – the celebration emojis spilled out!
Neighbours cut back the road verge and planted wildflower seeds
Lush summer meadow
There were once natural wildflower meadows in every parish – today only 2% of the meadows that existed in the 1930’s remain. Isn’t that shocking? In our village, a field has only recently been dug for new housing. The field was not used for farming; was it deemed insignificant? Maybe it was just cheap. However, the fact that it has not been grazed or treated for many years means that it will have been brimming with wildlife. It’s just below the railway line- one of nature’s highways- so to lose it is another blow for wildlife which is already in decline. It’s important that nature is put back, especially when something like this happens. What can we all do to put nature back elsewhere? Where are the little places we can make a difference?
Have a look at this fantastic leaflet from the Magnificent Meadows website - where could you add a mini-meadow near you?
A symbol of happiness
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.
I hereby declare that cornflowers are a symbol of love, happiness and friendship. They were the flowers of my beautiful July wedding, masses of them grown by my friends and brought, in bundles, to fill every conceivable jar and bottle, crammed into every space across tables and shelves. They will forever be a happy flower.
A lone cornflower pops out of the meadow flowers
'Polka Dot' cornflowers
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.
Bilberries … bumblebees … bilberries … bumblebees
I’ve been learning more about bumblebees- they’re the cute big furry bees which are wild, not the smaller honeybees. 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. They can be identified according to colour- ginger, yellow, white as well as black. The size and location of stripe is key- two yellow stripes, a ginger thorax, a fluffy white bottom, there are many combinations.
The rarest one in the UK is 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. I saw lots of them earlier this year at a prime bilberry spot- if you have bilberry bushes near you, you’ll be out gathering this summer I imagine. Go again in spring to see the masses of bilberry bumblebees on the flowers and consider that these are rare creatures, in decline, yet busy making your bilberries. On that note in fact, be considerate about the amount of bilberries you pick! Berries left for birds will disperse their seeds in flight, as it were. Which means more bilberry flowers can pop up in the future, joining that circle – flowers, bees, berries, seeds, flowers, bees… you get the picture.
A tree bumblebee feeds on catmint
Bilberries ripening
Once the bilberry flowers are over in May, there’s a dearth of nectar-rich moorland flowers until mid to late August when the moors turn pink and purple with heather. This lack of food forces the bilberry bumblebees to search further afield. Maybe into your garden! If you live near moorland or heath you may be lucky enough to spot one. They particularly like clover, raspberry and bramble flowers so keep the clover in your grass and if you’ve got space for a wild patch keep the brambles for the Bilberry Bumblebees!
Wildflower meadows, cornflowers and bumblebees- doesn’t that sound like nature’s celebration of summer?
Fabulous foxgloves at Arley Hall Gardens