England's National Nature Reserves

A splendid meadow and a reminder of what would have been a common site across England before the widespread use of artificial fertilisers. It is only when you see the abundance of flowers in meadows like Foster’s Green that you understand how country wine could have been made from cowslips. 

In less than 100 years we have lost over 97% of our lowland meadows and the wealth of wild flowers that went with them. This colourful, plant rich landscape would have been a common site to our ancestors and the hay that it produced would have been an important resource. 

Foster’s Green Meadow has the added interest of some large oak trees. These would have been valued for the shade they offered the cattle that grazed these meadows, and also the workers that scythed the fields in the summer months. Grazing animals are still an important part of managing hay meadows. Following the cropping of the meadow for hay in July, cattle are often brought in to graze off any further growth later on in the year.

We visited the site at the beginning of May to catch the green-winged orchids. This is a lovely time to see them with all the plants of the meadow (over 180 species have been recorded here) emerging from their winter dormancy. The cowslips and orchids being just the start of the show that will unfold through the summer.