Scything wildflower meadow verge

Roadside verges are often fantastic wildflower habitat and keep their rich species mix when the meadow inside the farm wall is ‘improved’ with the use of fertilisers. Austrian scythes are a perfect tool for managing these wildflower verges as they can work in small areas and, unlike with strimmers, there’s no risk of a stone being flicked out into a passing car.

Yesterday I travelled up to the beautiful Nidderdale AONB in Yorkshire to teach a group of volunteers how to use Austrian scythes for managing their wildflower meadow areas.

I taught a Learn to Scythe course for some of the other volunteers here last year and it was terrific to see how the vegetation has improved from being well managed. This makes the scything easier so the team quickly got into formation and cleared a huge area together.