Have you noticed?

I am sure it sould ease any soul. We are so lucky to live in the beautiful UK, with so much varied and beautiful countryside, although nowadays when I look at all the open spaces and green fields I imagine all the refugees seeing it and wondering why we won't let them in to stay here. Of course I know it's not that easy, it's a hugely complicated issue, but the thought takes away some of my enjoyment of our countryside.

Yes Starbird that is the sea: where Belfast Lough opens into the Irish Sea. At the moment the meadows around this country park are full of glorious wild flowers as there is no agricultural activity going on there any more. It has been laid aside for walkers and their dogs. We have had a lot of good weather in June and the whole place is just a wonderful sight. I go there with my dog a lot to ease my soul. she goes crazy with the freedom.

To my knowledge, there is no judthepud1. When I registered initially (some years ago) I did it as JudthePud and then messed the process up somehow. I just left it for a while and then came back and registered again adding the 2 which seems to me to have a ring to it

The above message for judthepud2 (is there a judthepud1 ?)

Lucky dog, there's something about a wild flower meadow, it just makes you want to walk through it. Is that the sea in the background?

They need to be mown but at the right time of the year
(some are spring flowering, some summer flowering)

www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=446

I think the council of our nearest large town decided to let the grass verges and roundabouts grow wild last year and this so they look beautiful and full of wild flowers. Hope they don't cut them down!

My council does that, Jalima, just as the spotted orchids are coming up. Then they express surprise that there are spotted orchids there!

we have fields and fields of dandelions - but at least the bees like them!

Our Council planted roundabouts and verges with lovely wild flowers last year but then mowed them at the wrong time, so they are not doing well this year

I don't know the correct name for the daisies, DM used to call them 'dog daisies'

Ox-eye daisies?
Leucanthemum vulgare?

West Midlands here. Just back from a ramble where we saw drifts of blue cranesbill, orange hawkweed (thanks, I didn't know what it was called) and those large white daisies - are they marguerites? just beautiful.

How about this for a wildflower meadow!? My dog's favourite zooming place. You can spot her if you look very closely.

Our district council only mows a margin about two feet wide along the verges to give visibility, the rest is left to grow and looks wonderful. Full of bees and insects.

Hi HildaJen, I've got that hawkweed in my garden. It first appeared a couple of years ago and I thought it was pretty, but my DiL warned me it was invasive. I should have ripped the lot up immediately. It's now smothered my lawn and is killing it off. I'm fighting back by ripping up handfuls but it's going to need to be nuked. I didn't want to use poison because cats come in the garden so I've googled it. Apparently there's some weedkillers that won't wipe out the cat population! I'm going to try those.

Lots of beautiful red poppies on drive from Hertfordshire to Cambridge yesterday.

They are using wildflowers in Cheltenham on some of the verges and roundabouts, so beautiful

Worcestershire.....many grass verges. Theyve been trimmed just at the edges for driving safety and grasses and flowers are growing at the back. Saves LA money and looks fab.

We have a strip of ground between our drive and next door which is planted with shrubs and flowering perennials - and, for the past three years, snapdragons! Don't know where they've come from but they do look lovely and I'll just let them get on with it.

Ninathenana I have some snapdragons in my garden, and I haven't planted them! There is also one coming up through a crack in the paving by the house, I haven't the heart to pull it out. Can't beat free flowers I usually only get dandelions!

East Kent has lovely road edges of ox-eye daisy and pink campion. the cow parsley was more in the graveyards etc., but is well over now.
Sadly the County council hates them and mows everything on the horizontal verges. we are still left with the more vertical edges...

Beautiful here too on the Rutland/Lincolnshire borders.
However there was a letter in our local paper complaining that the verges had not been CUT. Miseries or what?

The verges in Suffolk are wonderful this year; there are poppies galore and wild flowers everywhere. Even the A12 looks lovely in places with masses of flowers along the central reservation,so a big thank you to whoever decided not to spread the 'weed' killer.

They've stopped cutting the verges here in Northern Ireland to save money. So far, it looks awful. Just a lot of green weeds. I keep looking though, and a few wilds flowers are appearing.

The hay meadows in Upper Swaledale yesterday.

The hay meadows in Upper Swaledale were looking magnificent yesterday. They won't be cut until mid-July to allow the flowers to set seed.