ULC Get Involved

Mowing low and preventing the wildflowers that are native to Latvia from flowering makes lawns species poor and impoverished;

Early mowing is a way to limit the development of expansive species, but it is not necessary in all urban grassland areas! Expansive species such as ground-elder (Aegopodium podagraria), common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), sickle Medick (Medicago falcata) and others outcompete the more desirable, slow-growing urban meadow plants such as cowslip (Primula veris), meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris), germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) and yellow rattle (Rhinanthus sp.). Without early mowing, the urban meadows would be overtaken by grasses by Midsummer, while the sown plants would be stressed and weakened. Observe how quickly the meadows regrow after the first mowing – usually, the meadow is blooming and lush again after just a month. However, early mowing is not necessary in open sunny areas with poor soil fertility, where vegetation does not develop as quickly. Such urban meadow areas are left unmown until most plants have finished blooming.

Tās var ievākt grāvmalās, ceļmalās, ūdeņu malās, mežmalās, kā arī vecās atmatās un ilgstoši nepārsētos ilggadīgos zālājos. Tāpat vari meklēt vietējas izcelsmes savvaļas augu sēklu maisījumus. Veikalos pieejamos importa sēklu maisījumus nevajadzētu izmantot vai arī izmantot tikai pavisam nelielās platībās un kontrolējamos apstākļos, jo tie var apdraudēt vietējo savvaļas augu sugu ģenētisko daudzveidību un saglabāšanos nākotnē.

Join the initiative “Let’ s Make a Meadow Together!” and send us the wild plant seeds you have collected – we will sort them and sow them in the most suitable place! To join the volunteer seed collection movement, email us at ldf@ldf.lv or call 67830999.