Wildflower Meadows

Wildflower Meadows focuses on untouched, ancient and historic meadows and is stunningly illustrated with historic as well as recent photographs of ancient meadows The book features a wide variety of meadows and their flowers, from grasslands, and heathlands to chalklands and wetlands. From the same publisher that brought the highly acclaimed and award winning Where Have all the Flowers Gone? by Charles Flower Hay meadows with their wonderful profusion of wildflowers and butterflies are disappearing from the UK countryside at an alarming rate. This book celebrates in words and photographs the meadows that remain tucked away in odd corners in every part of the UK. Taking the most common type of meadow, Margaret Pilkington shows how, with the help of the National Vegetation Classifcation we can understand the unique collection of plants present and explains the Biodiversity Action Plan for wildflower meadows that it was hoped would ensure no further loss of this special, vulnerable habitat. She gives a clear, concise account of the challenges posed and the practical steps being taken to halt its decline, including the use of ecosystem services to highlight its value. Meadow flowers are adapted to survive and reproduce in grassland that has been managed in a particluar way for centuries. The voices of those who farmed in this way describe traditional hay making and the changes that have led to the loss of these meadows, a loss that has led to a huge decrease in the butterflies and other wildlife that depended on them for food and shelter. Margaret Pilkington explains the intimate connections between flowers and the insects that visit them, an explanation brought to life in John Pilkington's close-up photographs. Wildflower Meadows is a beautiful record of the meadows that survive and a practical guide to their preservation in the future to be enjoyed by all who appreciate and care for our countryside.