Wildflower Meadows in the Dells

 As many readers of this blog know, I volunteer once a week with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust. I pick litter and record wildlife along the river as it passes through Colinton and Craiglockart Dells, two beautiful, wooded areas. I was very glad of the shade offered by the trees today as the temperature is ridiculously high for Edinburgh (this is a sign of climate change of course, just as are the current floods devastating parts of central Europe and parts of Africa). 

There are two very different beautiful wildflower meadows along the route I take through the Dells. The brightly coloured meadow in Spylaw Park is a pictoral meadow, sown with a selection of species that guarantee a good, changing show of colour throughout the year. 

In previous years this meadow has hosted large numbers of pollinators, particularly hoverflies. Today I didn't see any hoverflies, only a few white or buff tailed bumble bees, lots of tiny flower beetles and one large white butterfly. I'll add the butterfly record to the Big Butterfly Count website.

The wildfower meadow near the site of Bog's Mill is entirely different. It has been planted with a seed mix that reflects the marshy nature of the site. So there's a lot of meadowsweet, thistles,  yarrow, meadow cranesbill, umbellifers and other flowers. It's not as colourful as the meadow at Spylaw Park but it is just as pretty and more natural.

There are often several insects here, today there were various  bumble bees and a hoverfly that I'm pretty sure was Leucozona glaucia, but it flew away before I could get a photo!