Pictorial Meadows have spent the last 20 years
developing their range of meadows.
The company's modern plant hunters scour the
globe seeking new and interesting species for inclusion in their meadows in
order to provide the most colour and the best support for pollinators.
Research has shown this combination of native and
non-native species to offer considerably more benefits for both people and
wildlife compared to native only mixes.
For people, a Pictorial Meadow provides a
spectacular and uniquely colourful show across a longer season that develops
and changes as different species come to the fore across the year. Their
meadows have often been described as having a “firework effect” in that they
explode with spectacular, ever changing colour.
Many of our native species in the UK have a short
flowering period of just a few weeks each spring meaning that a purely native
meadow could never offer the same longevity and variety of colour.
Of course, a meadow is so much more than just a
spectacular display of colour. Meadows have an important role to play in
supporting our native pollinators and wildlife.
Much of the research Pictorial
Meadows have completed over the last 20 years has looked at how we can develop
and build their meadow mixes to best support biodiversity around the UK. Their
findings have made clear the important role non-native species have in
supporting UK biodiversity, with these findings being supported by research
published by the British Ecological Society and the RHS1.
Their four-year study looked at the frequency of
visits by pollinators to a number of test plots planted in RHS gardens
featuring native, non-native, and mixed species.
The findings of the research suggested that
whilst early in the season the native plots received more visits, the limited
flowering period of the native species resulted in the non-native species
receiving more visits later in the season. This highlights the important role
non-native species have as a food and pollen source late into the season when
native species are simply not available.
The key to abundant pollinators, according to
this research, was high floral availability, with this being better provided by
the plots that contained a mixture of native and non-native species.
These findings support Pictorial Meadows
research, and it is for these reasons that they include a mixture of native and
non-native species and cultivars in all their mixes.
Put simply, a Pictorial Meadow provides more food
for hungry pollinators and a more spectacular display for you. A fantastically
floral win-win.
You can find out more about the PM range of
meadows in seed and turf at www.PictorialMeadows.co.uk.
