The colourful display of the wildflower spiral in Wolfson Quad has become a popular feature of summer months at LMH. Our Head Gardener, Oakley Loudon, explains the new approach he and his team are taking to make the display more ecologically friendly.
Last year was the first time that the wildflower spiral was made up of naturally re-seeded plants, leading to a more natural look.
"This year, the College's Fibonacci-spiralled meadow will have some extra nuances, and I would like to introduce the thought behind it, and also share a little about the journey of our quadrant meadow, and the direction we are going in as it evolves.
When I first joined LMH, we had the entire quad annually sown with a wildflower seed mix, which was designed by a company specialising in successive displays of fantastic flowers from many parts of the world.
As we needed to re-sow this annually, we had to use methods of control that were contrary to the perceived wholesomeness of a wildflower meadow. Each year it was sprayed with glyphosate, rotovated and resown, with varying results dependent on the timing of sowing and the weather each year. We have been referring to this as a wildflower meadow - essentially because of the plants - but in truth this way of managing the meadow was no different to the process used for an annually sown bed or crop.
In search of a more natural, light-touch approach to the spiral that encourages a true meadow to form, last year we let the previous year's flowers seed themselves, allowing the meadow to essentially create itself. This is the way in which traditional meadows are managed.
This approach meant we did not have to spray chemicals, or have a long period of time where the quad spiral resembled a crop field of bare soil in preparation of growth. We also avoided the stubbly after-harvest effect and didn't have to re-sow grass in the autumn.
We have been giving a lot of thought to the future direction of the quad and how best to manage it. Do we keep the spiral? Do we return to a whole quadrant of perennially managed meadow? Do we use native plants only, or a mixture from a wider range of countries?
What we do know is that we do not want to continue spraying the quad. We know that this approach will mean that the meadow is a touch less floriferous, with more grasses on show - ending the meadow season with, in my opinion, a much more aesthetic and calming haze of seed heads, gold, blonde and bronze stalks of grass, before the meadow is cut and returns to greening lawn as the autumn progresses into winter (no fallow field vibes in sight!).
With a busy year last year, we missed the opportunity to harrow and over-sow a British wildflower seed mix into the existing plant community. This means that this year we will have a second-year succession of a self-sown meadow. It will be interesting to see what will come through the winter and what the mix of species will be.
To add some nuance to this transitional time of the quad spiral, we have planted a selection of bulbs to accent and erupt through the meadow as the year goes along, all the way up to and slightly beyond the last days of term in the summer.
Currently on display are snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii, which is a giant snowdrop native to the Balkans and Asia minor. We have a light dappling of 500 bulbs at the moment, but they will happily bulk themselves up if we continue this way.
Next in succession will be a somewhat lesser-seen tulip of old times, Tulia acuminata. Known since the 17th century in Turkey, it has very fine slender pointed petals of orange, scarlet and yellow. This will be followed by a wilder form of Gladioli, Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus. Native to Spain and North Africa, this is a naturally-occurring hybrid species with deep magenta-crimson flowering vertical spears. Finally, we can look forward to enjoying a quamash from California, Camassia leichtlinii 'Alba’, which features starry spires of creamy white flowers which will poke out of the meadow-top in early summer.
The intention is that these bulbs will throw some sequential pops of colour amongst a softer, grassier meadow, which we hope will give a calmer, perhaps classier, feel to the quad. I hope you enjoy watching the evolution of the small Wolfson Quad meadow this year.
As summer progresses, we will be finalising our choice for the meadow of 2026. Please do feel free to send me your opinions and feelings about it as the year progresses. Don't expect a quick response, as I'm necessarily out in the gardens for much of the time, but do know your voice will be noted and valued in consideration of what we do next year, and perhaps for a longer period of time after this choice is made."
Last year's wildflower spiral contained an interesting mix of grasses and flowers
