Making a Meadow - live log
Homestead Park is growing a new perennial wildflower meadow. This is a rolling log of updates which will be added to as the project progresses.
The new section of meadow will be full of carefully chosen wildflowers, and waft up the edge of the Main Lawn along both sides of Cherry Avenue. This live-log documents the transition of that area from short cut lawn to thriving wildflower meadow, with all
Expect this page to be quite rough and ready; a documentation of what the park team learn along the way. Think of it as the little nectar-drops of process.
After a year or two, once the meadow has taken and had a full season; we can refine these learnings into a more finished publication. We hope that in sharing the process, others might feel empowered and inspired to replicate parts of it if they wish. Think of that publication as the ripened fruit.
Part 1 - Why make a meadow?
22/10/2026 So why make a wildflower meadow, and why on the edge of a big recreational lawn?
There are in fact two places in Homestead Park we’re tending wildflower meadows: a large patch in the ‘Meadow’ area of the park, between the Shipton Road entrance and the Woods, and this one on the edge of the Main Lawn.
Wildflowers provide food sources and overwintering shelter for an amazing number of insect and other invertebrate species. These in turn support countless birds and small mammals.
Wildflower meadows are astoundingly beautiful. You might be familiar with the annual cornfield flowers, such as chamomile, poppies and cornflowers. But there are also many perennial species such as viper’s bugloss and kidney vetch which are even more impressive.
Meadows are also much better for the soil structure. A regularly mown lawn becomes quite hard packed, and water struggles to get in. With a hot and dry summer, that puts the health of the neighbouring trees at greater risk.
We spent the last two summers prototyping the new meadow areas with a reduced mowing pattern. The grass was allowed to grow long, with short cut paths in between. We noticed how people used it, where people picnic and play football, and adjusted the shapes. We think this is going to be a big and exciting upgrade to the park, and we’re excited to bring everybody who comes to the park along for the ride.
You can help us make these new sections of Wildflower Meadow on Wednesday 28th October!
Join the Meadow Makers event from 11am - 3pm, see information on the What’s on page of the park’s website.
