Blaen Tir has been recognised as a People’s Meadow, for Carmarthenshire, under the Coronation Meadows Project – a wonderful place to see native wild flowers.

Just over 4 acres in size, as a single field adjacent to the property, it has been ‘restored’ to fantastic floral diversity over about the last 20 years by owners Derek and Felicity Cobley, with the help of a neighbouring farmer. As you can see from the in depth species list which follows from a botanical survey conducted in 2007, it has a huge diversity of flowering plants (131 species recorded then), including many unusual and rare flowering plants and many orchids.

The meadow sits on a gently sloping plateau type site at about 700 feet, to the South West of Cynghordy, and is surrounded on most sides by mature trees, not flailed hedges, including many Oaks which were originally planted along the boundaries to provide bark for the tanneries. Chemical substitutes for bark meant that these trees were never harvested and so remain to this day, planted very close together along the Western boundary hedge. The aerial photo below with numbers in it shows the meadow – the numbers representing sample sites for the plant survey.

The field has had no recent fertiliser or manure input, or cultivation and is managed simply by taking a late cut of ‘hay’, well into August in most years, and subsequently having aftermath growth grazed by sheep into mid winter.

Access to the site is by an adjacent narrow dead end lane, which runs beside the meadow and leads to Blaen Tir house.

A visit in June or July is a revelation as to what a Carmarthenshire Meadow can look like – a sea of multi coloured flowers, so dense it is impossible to walk through it without treading on something wonderful!

As supporters of the Carmarthenshire Meadows Group, Derek and Felicity have kindly opened the meadow to public visitors in 2015. Check back on the Meadow Visits/Events page for access details in 2016.

Combined Plant Species Lists for Blaen Tir:

Field records 25

Species recorded 131

Scientific Name                               Common Name               No of Records

Acer pseudoplatanus                            Sycamore                                1

Achillea millefolium                                Yarrow                                     1

Achillea ptarmica                                  Sneezewort                              7

Agrostis canina sens. lat.                     Brown Bent                              4

Agrostis canina                                    Velvet Bent                               7

Agrostis capillaris                                 Common Bent                          9

Agrostis stolonifera                              Creeping Bent                          1

Alnus glutinosa                                    Alder                                          2

Anagallis tenella                                  Bog Pimpernel                           1

Angelica sylvestris                             Wild Angelica                             3

Anthoxanthum odoratum                    Sweet Vernal-grass                   11

Apium inundatum                               Lesser Marshwort                      1

Arrhenatherum elatius                       False Oat-grass                         1

Athyrium filix-femina                          Lady-fern                                    3

Betula pubescens                             Downy Birch                               4

Briza maxima                                    Great Quaking-grass                 1

Briza media                                       Quaking-grass                           6

Calluna vulgaris                                 Heather                                     1

Caltha palustris                                 Marsh-marigold                         1

Campanula rotundifolia                     Harebell                                     5

Cardamine flexuosa                          Wavy Bitter-cress                      1

Cardamine pratensis                        Cuckooflower                              1

Carex echinata                                 Star Sedge                                   1

Carex flacca                                     Glaucous Sedge                           3

Carex hostiana                                 Tawny Sedge                                1

Carex ovalis                                      Oval Sedge                                   1

Carex panicea                                  Carnation Sedge                             3

Carex viridula subsp. oedocarpa     Common Yellow-sedge                   1

Carex viridula                                   Yellow-sedge                                    1

Carex x fulva                                                                                             1

Carum verticillatum                           Whorled Caraway                           13

Centaurea nigra                                Common Knapweed                         13

Circaea lutetiana                               Enchanter’s-nightshade                     1

Cirsium dissectum                            Meadow Thistle                                  1

Cirsium palustre                                Marsh Thistle                                      7

Corylus avellana                               Hazel                                                  4

Crataegus monogyna                       Hawthorn                                            2

Cynosurus cristatus                         Crested Dog’s-tail                               4

Dactylis glomerata                            Cock’s-foot                                         2

Danthonia decumbens                      Heath-grass                                        6

Deschampsia flexuosa                     Wavy Hair-grass                                 1

Digitalis purpurea                              Foxglove                                             1

Dryopteris dilatata                             Broad Buckler-fern                             1

Dryopteris filix-mas                           Male-fern                                            1

Elytrigia repens                                 Common Couch                                 1

Epilobium obscurum                         Short-fruited Willowherb                     1

Epilobium palustre                            Marsh Willowherb                               3

Epilobium parviflorum                       Hoary Willowherb                               1

Euphrasia officinalis agg.                  Eyebright                                             8

Festuca arundinacea                        Tall Fescue                                         1

Festuca rubra                                     Red Fescue                                        11

Filipendula ulmaria                              Meadowsweet                                     2

Fraxinus excelsior                              Ash                                                      4

Galeopsis tetrahit agg                        Common Hemp-nettle                        1

Galium aparine                                   Cleavers                                              1

Galium palustre                                   Common Marsh-bedstraw                  4

Genista tinctoria                                  Dyer’s Greenweed                              2

Geranium endressii                              French Crane’s-bill                              1

Glechoma hederacea                           Ground-ivy                                          1

Glyceria fluitans                                    Floating Sweet-grass                          1

Hedera helix                                          Ivy                                                       2

Heracleum sphondylium                       Hogweed                                             2

Holcus lanatus                                      Yorkshire-fog                                      16

Holcus mollis                                        Creeping Soft-grass                            1

Hyacinthoides non-scripta                   Bluebell                                               1

Hydrocotyle vulgaris                            Marsh Pennywort                               1

Hypochaeris radicata                           Cat’s-ear                                             5

Ilex aquifolium                                       Holly                                                    1

Iris pseudacorus                                   Yellow Iris                                            2

Juncus acutiflorus                                Sharp-flowered Rush                          10

Juncus conglomeratus                         Compact Rush                                    4

Juncus effusus                                     Soft-rush                                             4

Juncus x kern-reichgeltii                                                                                  1

Lathyrus pratensis                                Meadow Vetchling                              1

Lemna minor                                         Common Duckweed                          2

Leucanthemum vulgare                        Oxeye Daisy                                       1

Linum catharticum                                Fairy Flax                                            6

Lotus corniculatus                               Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil                 7

Lotus pedunculatus                             Greater Bird’s-foot-trefoil                    8

Luzula multiflora                                   Heath Wood-rush                                1

Lychnis flos-cuculi                               Ragged-Robin                                     1

Lysimachia nummularia                      Creeping-Jenny                                  1

Lysimachia punctata                           Dotted Loosestrife                               1

Lythrum salicaria                                 Purple-loosestrife                               1

Mentha aquatica                                 Water Mint                                          1

Molinia caerulea                                  Purple Moor-grass                              8

Myriophyllum aquaticum                     Parrot’s-feathers                                 1

Nardus stricta                                     Mat-grass                                            5

Oenanthe crocata                               Hemlock Water-dropwort                   1

Pilosella aurantiaca                             Fox-and-cubs                                      1

Pimpinella saxifraga                            Burnet-saxifrage                                 3

Plantago lanceolata                            Ribwort Plantain                                  4

Platanthera chlorantha                       Greater Butterfly-orchid                      1

Poa annua                                           Annual Meadow-grass                        1

Poa humilis                                         Spreading Meadow-grass                   1

Poa trivialis                                         Rough Meadow-grass                        2

Potentilla anserina                              Silverweed                                          2

Potentilla erecta                                 Tormentil                                             14

Prunella vulgaris                                 Selfheal                                               4

Prunus spinosa                                   Blackthorn                                           1

Pteridium aquilinum                             Bracken                                              3

Quercus petraea                                Sessile Oak                                         1

Quercus robur                                    Pendunculate Oak                              2

Quercus x rosacea                            hybrid oak                                           1

Ranunculus acris                               Meadow Buttercup                             5

Ranunculus flammula                        Lesser Spearwort                                5

Ranunculus repens                           Creeping Buttercup                             2

Rhinanthus minor                              Yellow-rattle                                        7

Rubus fruticosus agg.                       Bramble                                              3

Rumex acetosa                                Common Sorrel                                  2

Rumex crispus                                  Curled Dock                                        1

Rumex obtusifolius                           Broad-leaved Dock                             1

Rumex sanguineus                           Wood Dock                                         1

Salix cinerea                                     Grey Willow                                        2

Sambucus nigra                                Elder                                                    1

Sanguisorba officinalis                      Great Burnet                                       1

Scutellaria minor                                Lesser Skullcap                                  2

Senecio aquaticus                             Marsh Ragwort                                   1

Serratula tinctoria                              Saw-wort                                             4

Sonchus asper                                  Prickly Sow-thistle                              1

Sorbus aucuparia                              Rowan                                                 1

Stachys officinalis                             Betony                                                 8

Stellaria graminea                             Lesser Stitchwort                                1

Succisa pratensis white flowered    Devil’s-bit Scabious white flowered form  1

Succisa pratensis                            Devil’s-bit Scabious                            10

Taraxacum aggregate                      Dandelion *                                         2

Trifolium dubium                               Lesser Trefoil                                      1

Trifolium medium                              Zigzag Clover                                      1

Trifolium pratense                             Red Clover                                         8

Urtica dioica                                     Common Nettle                                  3

Viola riviniana                                   Common Dog-violet                           1

 Uploaded to the gallery in October 2015

 _______________________________

If you own or manage a meadow in Carmarthenshire which you would like to add to these gallery pages, please email Julian Wormald, the current website administrator, at

website@carmarthenshiremeadows.com

Thanks for reading.