Spring has brought such a beautiful display to our vineyard 😌 We had a visit from Professor Duncan Westbury of the Royal Agricultural University this week – the brilliant mind behind our perennial wildflower strips and the guiding light of this whole project. Duncan’s visit was perfectly timed too; just before our second cut so the daisies were in full bloom and looking absolutely stunning.

In case you weren’t aware, our site is being used to trial new ways to grow select perennial wildflowers in a way that does not affect the grower, or put the flowers at risk of trampling. A third of our vineyard has been dedicated to this project for 3 years now, and we are now seeing the beautiful results.

But here’s what’s really exciting – it’s not just about looking beautiful – Duncan is delighted with how successfully all the other species have established. We’ve got Bird’s Foot Trefoil, Lady’s Bedstraw, Selfheal, Viper’s Bugloss and a whole host of other wonderfully exotic-sounding plants now thriving between our vines.

These are the real heroes – vital food sources for our bees, hoverflies and all the beneficial pollinators that make our vineyard ecosystem work so well.

We’re delighted with how gorgeous they look, Duncan’s pleased with the results, and it’s all feeding back into this fascinating 3-year project to see just how viable and beneficial these schemes could be for English vineyards on a much larger scale.

Nature and farmers working hand in hand. Just as it should be.