Following an enthusiastic response to the first ever Every Flower Counts, Plantlife is teaming up with BBC Gardeners’ World for a special repeat of the survey.
The first survey took place over the late May Bank Holiday weekend and the new survey will take place from Friday 12 July to Sunday 14 July. Many people who took part the first time around got in touch with Plantlife asking if the survey could run again and include more summer-flowering species such as white clover, selfheal and lady’s bedstraw. Common knapweed has also been included, as it’s flowering now and is especially rich in nectar.
So, if you’d like to repeat the survey and find out how your Personal Nectar Score compares to that from spring, or take part for the first time, the Every Flower Counts website will be live from Monday 8 July. The previous survey and further information can currently (at 3 July) still be found on the Plantlife website.
Taking part
The survey is simple. During the weekend of 12 to 14 July, simply throw a ball onto your lawn to find a random spot, mark out a 1-metre square quadrat (this will be explained on the website), and then count the number of open flowers you find. If you have a large lawn, you can count several metre-square quadrats. Then enter your results on the Every Flower Counts website and you will be given a Personal Nectar Score showing you how much nectar your lawn is producing and how many bees it is supporting. You can do the survey on your mown lawn, or on areas of lawn you might have left unmown to grow as a mini-meadow.
All the results will be combined to produce a National Nectar Score, so get ready to count those flowers!