The matter in summary Interest in growing flower meadows has increased significantly in Norway, with a great demand for seeds. The seeds are collected in the summer and delivered, among other things, to the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy (Nibio) in Grimstad, where they are further grown for use in seed mixes. The mowed fields, where such flower meadows are found, are critically endangered, and many want to help preserve them. Nibio experiences great demand from people who want to grow flower meadows, and sells several hundred kilos of seeds to customers all over the country. According to Nibio, the commitment to the flower meadows has spread to contractors, municipalities, housing associations, schools and garden owners. The Norwegian Botanical Association engages school classes all over the country to plant flower meadows through the Children’s Flower Garden project. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Roar Linjord sprinkles a handful of freshly harvested seeds into his hand. – You can sow these and get new plants, he says. The gardener scouts the meadow for flowers that are ready to harvest seeds from. Bumblebees and bees buzz between small white, purple and yellow flowers. SANKER: Roar Linjord shows seeds that can be sown for new plants. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann / news The seeds he collects are delivered to the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy (Nibio) in Grimstad. Here they are further grown for use in seed mixes. They have become very popular. – We hardly manage to produce enough seeds, says researcher Ellen Johanne Svalheim. – A people’s movement Nibio notices a lot of demand from people who want to cultivate flower meadows. Several hundred kilograms of seeds are sold to customers all over the country. The mowed fields where such flower meadows are found are critically endangered. Many people want to do something about it. PROGRESS: Nibio receives calls from all over the country from people who want to plant flower meadows. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann / news The commitment to the flower meadows has spread to both contractors, municipal housing associations, schools and garden owners, says Ellen Johanne Svalheim in Nibio. She gets calls from all over the country with questions about how to get more wildflowers. – It is really a people’s movement, she says. How to make a flower meadow Find a hay field: Hay is full of seeds and the best thing is to spread it out where you want to plant a flower meadow. Sow the seeds in bare soil and remember to water: The seeds can be sown throughout the season. You can sow the seeds in open ground, by loosening the soil with a rake and then carefully raking it over. Remember to water regularly the first year. Choose a barren part of the garden: The best location is a barren part of the garden. Choose a place with sand, stone or gravel where it has not been fertilized before. If you have a lawn that you want to turn into a flower meadow, you should remove the top layer of soil. Fertilizer is unnecessary: The more dry and nutrient-poor soil you have, the richer in flowers the flower meadow will be. Fertilizer favors competitive species that outcompete and overshadow meadow flowers. Mow once a year: The flower meadow should be mowed once a year, preferably in late summer when the flowering is over and the seeds are ripe. Source: Norwegian Botanical Association Food for bumblebees The Norwegian Botanical Association engages school classes across the country to plant flower meadows through the Children’s Flower Garden project. The aim is for the flower meadow to become its own learning arena, while at the same time helping to take care of Norway’s wild flowers and wild pollinating insects. In the autumn, children from Fagerholt School in Kristiansand will be able to help plant a flower meadow on the campus at the University of Agder UiA). NAM: The bees like the red buttons, one of the plants that is well suited to flower meadows. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann / news – We have had the lawn dug up where we will have the flower meadow, and replaced this soil with nutrient-poor soil, which the plants in the flower meadows need, says Malene Østreng Nygård. She is a researcher at the Nature Museum and Botanical Garden at the University of Agder (UiA). Now that they have received seeds and small plants, the children will help make the meadow. – Why do you think there is so much interest in flower meadows? – There is a lot of focus on the insects disappearing. You can ensure that wild bumblebees, bees, butterflies, flower flies and other pollinators get food. In addition, it gives insects a place to breed and seek refuge. It is a concrete thing that you can contribute with, she says. Rare In the meadow of Roar Linjord on Tromøya outside Arendal, there is a small grid of one square meter. Here, researchers from Nibio record all the species that grow. RUTENETT: Researchers Ellen Johanne Svalheim and Liv Guri Velle register all the species within a small square meter in Roar Linjord’s meadow. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann / news Bluebell, Småsyre and mouse clover. Red fescue and smolt are painstakingly counted in the small grid. When Roar Linjord took over the farm on Tromøya outside Arendal from his parents-in-law, it was surrounded by hayfields. He chose to keep it. SEEDS: Roar Linjord collects seeds for seed mixes. It turns into flower meadows all over the country. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann / news Linjord is a trained gardener, and has a great interest in harvesting and growing wild flowers. – I think it’s exciting to see if you can make it happen. I want to increase the amount of meadow plants, he says to news. The hay fields were traditionally used to gather winter fodder for animals, and are known to contain a diversity of flower species. It has now become a rare sight in Norway, and is considered a critically endangered nature type. And it is not only because of the plant diversity that the meadows are so special. – Under your feet there can be like 1,500 to 2,000 different small animals. Mites, ants, springtails, beetles, spiders, aphids and larvae of various kinds. And not to mention all the even smaller organisms, says NIBIO researcher Ellen Johanne Svalheim Ideal-eng A few years ago, researchers at Nibio started a project at Landvik in Grimstad. They wanted to find out how best to transform grasslands into colorful flower meadows. PLANTS: Here Roar Linjord grows new plants that will provide seeds for the flower meadows. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann Even to Roar Lindjord they keep a close eye on. – This is the ideal. This is how we want it to be when we restore a meadow in Landvik, says Svalheim. You can read more about the research project in Grimstad in this case: Regeneration and intensified agriculture threaten the traditional Norwegian flower meadows. The researchers at Nibio will find out how they can best transform grasslands into colorful flower meadows Published 16/07/2024, at 08.27
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Nibio hardly manages to produce enough seeds for flower meadows
