Palace Road Estate Bee Road

Over 350 square metres of grass turf was removed from one of the mounds running alongside the northern side of Palace Road Estate adjacent to the A205 South Circular (Christchurch Road). A layer of low-fertility soil and a seed mixture of perennial wildflowers, was added along with a 'nursery crop' of cornfield annuals to provide a splash of colour in the first year.  

This area will be fenced and covered with a germination fleece in order to protect the ground and provide ideal conditions for seed germination, helping warm the soil and keeping moisture at ground level.  The new meadows will then be maintained with an annual cut and collection of the grass cuttings. We are grateful for the contributions from students from Streatham Wells Primary School, Orchard Primary School, and Hitherfield Primary School, who worked with a team of local freelance community educators to plant out wildflower seeds on the site. 

Flowers to look out for in the new meadows include in the first year colourful cornfield annuals like poppies, cornflower and corn marigold, and these should be followed by perennial wildflowers like wild carrot, ox-eye daisy, field scabious, greater and lesser knapweeds, meadow buttercup and birds-foot trefoil.

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