I mowed a Labyrinth into the Top Field for a Summer Solstice celebration we held at the Trust on 22nd June. Using our trimming scythe and a Profisense 50cm blade I mowed a narrow path through the wild flowers based on a traditional pattern.
A sketch of the design of the labyrinth
We have found mowing a couple of paths and a labyrinth into the meadow very useful. It allows visitors to go deep into the meadow and see the diversity of flowers and grasses without trampling all over them, which would make for really difficult mowing later on.
Walking the Labyrinth in the sunshine
The labyrinth I mowed last year turned into a negative of it’s self by the end of the summer, with the plants that had been mown on the pathway returning to flower while the surrounding grassland had finished and gone to seed.
Here are just a couple of the flowers that can be seen from the Labyrinth:
Purple Orchid with Cat’s Ear going to seed behind, in the Top Field.
A Greater Butterfly Orchid in the Top Field. Numbers are increasing year on year.