Behind us "Hayride in the Meadow" - traditional mowing of a flower meadow!

This past Saturday, a unique event took place in our Garden - a haying of the flower meadow carried out in the traditional way, namely with hand scythes. Although it sounds like a memory from the past, it had a very contemporary purpose - to protect the extremely rich fauna that inhabits our meadow.

Our grasslands are home to a host of animals: insects, spiders, amphibians, reptiles and even small mammals. Hand mowing - unlike mechanical mowing - avoids injuring or killing them, giving them time to escape and protecting their habitats. This is the safest method for nature, although it requires time and skill.

It's also a beautiful reference to rural traditions - once upon a time, this is how hay was harvested after the cut grass was dried. Today, the sight of a scythe and people working with it is a real rarity, so the event was very popular - both with adults and children. Our youngest visitors had the opportunity to see a scythe for the first time in their lives and see what daily work in the countryside used to be like. There was also no shortage of daredevils willing to try their hand with a scythe!

Ważną częścią prac było również odpowiednie postępowanie z przymiotnem – rośliną, która zbyt łatwo się rozsiewa. Zebrane przymiotno trafia do osobnego kompostownika, a my czuwamy nad tym, aby nie rozprzestrzeniło się na łące.

We would like to thank everyone who helped organize the event, especially:

• Paulina Szczepaniak - for the idea and coordination
• and to three of our exceptional employees who possess that now rare skill of mowing with a traditional scythe: Lukasz Michnal, Artur Podsiadlo and Aleksandr Kostiuk - a big applause and respect!

It was a beautiful, sunny day, - thank you for being with us!

Text: P. Szczepaniak, K. Rakowska-Szlązkiewicz
Photos: P. Szczepaniak