Grant: On 18/8/21 we were awarded a Greening Our Communities grant by Norfolk Community Foundation to create a wildflower meadow with mown paths, insect hotels and picnic bench. A wooden shed replaces the shipping container for better views. We put up project notices so visitors can see what we are doing.

See the Picture Gallery of the meadow in flower in 2023 & 2024

Earthworks: The area was a wasteland full of soil heaps, tall weeds and nettles. Earthworks were carried out with the digger, there was lots of rubble in the soil so it was sifted using a riddling bucket, then spread out over the area. We waited for weeds to come through and pulled them up, then rolled and harrowed the soil. 

Finds: The area was metal detected, we found a large hinge post, belt buckle, paddle, metal centre of a grindstone. 'Eyes Only' finds were slate ridge caps, glass bottle top and bones. Ryan’s detecting demonstrations at the open days helped visitors find fabricated sheet metal. Finds are displayed on illuminated shelves in the visitor centre.

Preservation: The channel beside the meadow was dug out exposing tunnels. The boiling house corner bracket has a wooden surround and cover displaying it with explanation sign. The adjacent brick floor was protected with soil, a Perspex panel shows a section of it. Pictures of the exposed floor are displayed in the visitor centre. One of the grindstones was put in the wildflower meadow after the river wall collapsed.

Seeds: We bought 5kg of Native wild flower & grass seed for the meadow and 1kg of Cornfield annuals for the covered brick floor and for re-seeding. We added purple Poppy seeds which we saved and seeds donated by volunteers. Silver sand was mixed with seeds to show coverage, then sown using our towed spreader. 

Shed: The shipping container used for restoration work was replaced with a shed attached to our Visitor Centre which is based on the original mill building, the shed is based on the slate roofed building on the right. The attached shed reduced the structures on site from 3 to 2. The base, sides and roof all contain re-used materials. The shed is for storing garden tools, it gives a much better view than the container.

Displays: Items from the old store room in the visitor centre were moved to the shed, leaving the room free to show items found when making the meadow on new illuminated shelves and a small multimedia screen for slideshows of the work and the meadow in flower. Pictures of us creating the meadow are on the wall. 

Insect Hotels: We bought five insect hotels and made stands for them using an old trellis and bed frame, taken apart with our pallet breaker. Ground stakes prevent the insect hotels falling over. Insects have sealed off many cells with their larvae inside. Another insect hotel was made by the volunteers from salvaged wood in December 2023 and a chutney box was converted into an insect hotel in July 2024. We made a bee house with viewing windows in November 2024.

Picnic Bench: Our picnic bench was assembled on site and put in the meadow. The table top planks distorted, so I got a free replacement top. We repaired the old table top and fitted legs to make another outside table which has had a lot of use.

Mower: We bought a 98cm side discharge petrol mower, they're better in long grass than collecting mowers which clog up and we need to leave tall meadow cuttings for seeds to fall. The mower was needed to tow the various implements to create and sow the meadow and to cut paths through the meadow. The meadow needs cutting down in September and cutting all through winter. We also have lots of long grass at the mill to cut. The mower is kept securely off site and taken to the mill when needed.

Towed Accessories: The tipping trailer, roller and spreader were assembled on site. We towed the second hand sweeper to the mill for minor repairs, its used to clear cuttings after seeds have fallen to lower soil fertility and to clear grass cuttings for open days. We made a harrow from materials on site, saving £200. The trailer was used to clear weeds and take seeds and sand to the area for sowing, the harrow and roller prepared soil for seeding, the spreader was used to sow seeds. See the maintenance page for more details. Most towed accessories are kept off site until needed.

Purchases: We bought responsibly and locally, the mower was from Breckland Mowers of Attleborough, wood for the shed from Kings Lynn & Swaffham, seeds from Boston, insect hotels from Great Yarmouth, Etsy picnic bench from Wolverhampton. Many other items were from Amazon Smile, supporting British wildlife charities. Most of the grant was spent on machinery needed to create and maintain the area, as a lot of preparation, cutting paths and annual maintenance is needed on wildflower meadows.

Area: The planned size was 500m2, but was increased to over 700m2 by including the covered brick floor as a Cornfield flower area, mowing the corner, clearing an overgrown area and pruning trees to move the track to the edges of the site. We also used the new strimmer to clear the sloping area at the far end.

Flowers: In May 2023 Poppies, Cornflowers and Corn Chamomile flowered. Corn Marigolds and other species flowered later. Annuals flower first, perennials take up to two years. We invited the public to join us in June to see the flowering meadow. A sign has been made with pictures of the meadow in flower for the picnic bench, so visitors at open days can see the flowers. See the Picture Gallery of the meadow in flower.

Oak Trees: Wildflower meadows thrive in full sun, but trees look good, help reduce weeds and provide food for insects. Three small Oak trees were planted in the meadow in 2024, their position will mean the entire Cornfield flower area and most of the meadow will still have full sun when the trees are fully grown.

Slideshows: I created three slideshows: Making the meadow, which includes putting the picnic bench and insect hotels there; the meadow in flower throughout the first season; and a Combination of both. These are for the multimedia screens in the visitor centre and are also on Youtube.

Mown Paths: The mower effortlessly cut paths through the tall meadow growth, its the ideal width for paths. We kept paths cut all summer with a clearing for the picnic bench, we vary the position of the paths and bench each year.

Wildlife: We bought A3 laminating pouches and angled edging strips with grant funds and made a lectern style sign from re-used wood to show creatures seen in the meadow, with a whiteboard area for recording new wildlife. When more perennials flower it may attract new wildlife species so we'll update the sign. 

Maintenance: The project is complete but wildflower meadows need a lot of annual maintenance, see the Wildflower Meadow Maintenance page to see what is involved and what we have done so far.

Second Season: In 2024 Foxgloves, Ox Eye Daisies and more Buttercups appeared because perennials usually only flower in the second year. There were also Cornflowers, Corn Chamomile and Poppies again. Last year we pulled up all the weeds before they set seed, this has paid off as there were far less weeds this year.

Graham Bartlett,  Project Co-ordinator               Interactive Plan        Maintenance      Mower      Green Grant         Volunteer        Grants        Gallery        Slideshow          Shed        20/8/21         Sowing Seed         Seed Mix 

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 20/8/21  Sowing Seed     Green Community Grant         Gallery         Maintenance