Wildflower Summer Cut

Late summer and winter cuts planned

Our wildflower grasslands have been a huge success with so many insects and birds enjoying the plethora of flowers and grasses in green spaces across our city. Many of our residents have captured photos and shared them across our social channels, making the wildflowers accessible to those that haven’t been fortunate enough to see them.

In order to maintain our stunning wildflowers and to mimic the agricultural habitat of animals grazing, they require an annual cut. This year a late summer cut has been planned for parts of the Civic Centre/Guildhall spaces, with some sections being left for a late winter cut. This will help us see how the grassland behaves to different management approaches and guide future maintenance for the benefit of biodiversity.

Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry, the Leader of Southampton City Council said: “We have thoroughly enjoyed the wildflower meadows appearing around the city this summer, especially here at the Civic Centre. We are committed to delivering even more next year as part of our plan to invest more in our city’s parks and open spaces, restoring pride in our city. As a result, with the flowers now waning, we need to start our annual cutting. This helps to maintain these habitats and for some areas it might even mean we see another flush of flowers before the winter. Our intention is to plant even more across our city and encourage more biodiversity in these wildflower grasslands over the coming years, really maximising our city’s open spaces.”