Wildflower seed packets are out and meadows are in for Waterford
A close up of a section of common Daisy
Packet wildflowers may do more harm than good when it comes to biodiversity.
But, the good news is there is a much better way to support native pollinators. The Waterford News and Star recently spoke to Waterford City and County Council Biodiversity Officer, Marina Mulligan who said it is better to allow native wildflowers to bloom.
Ms Mulligan was supporting the Tramore Eco Group in installing chestnut fencing and replanting marram grass on the dunes.
She said that when it comes to plants, genetics are really important.
For marram grass, that means replanting plants from one area to another.
In our gardens, this means allowing the seeds already in the soil a chance to grow.
Ms Mulligan also said with the best of intentions, we often plant things we find in shops.
“Wildflowers you get in packets are an absolute mix of Asian African, US seeds and from all over the world," said Ms Mulligan.
"They are beautiful but don’t necessarily provide for native pollinators because our pollinators are not the same as their pollinators," she added.
Ms Mulligan said that planting foreign wildflowers also takes habitat away from native flowers.
Allowing grass to grow in some areas encourages native wildflower seed to germinate and spread creating meadows in Ireland.
A local success story in meadow management is the nature park on an old landfill site along the Estuary Road in Tramore.
According to an article by All Ireland Pollinator Plan co-founder Dr Úna FitzPatrick, the regenerated meadow in Tramore is a real success story.
Developed by Tramore Eco Group and Waterford City and County Council, the short grass has been allowed to grow, only cut once a year in September.
Large docks are removed to stop them from dominating the ecosystem.
The meadow is now home to plants like Bee Orchid and birds like Skylarks.
