COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 11, 2022

QUESTION NO. 5

QUESTION: Councillor T. Costello

To ask the Chief Executive can you advise if there is a maintenance schedule for the wildflower patches across the county, I notice some have become suffocated with weeds and not flowering as they did in their first year

REPLY:

The amenity wildflower areas which have been planted by the council over the past two to three years generally flower better in the first year as the soil has been cultivated to sow the seeds/bulbs which disturbs the existing seeds within the soil seed bank. In the following years there is more frequent low grass and color is a little less intensive. To have the same flowering impact as the first year the vegetation would need to be treated and the soil cultivated and re-seeded each year, however this is not considered to be a sustainable approach to the management of amenity wildflower areas.

The Public Realm Section is following best practice maintenance which is to cut and remove the vegetation at the end of the growing season and then reseed the wildflower area as necessary.  It is unavoidable that weeds will grow within the wildflower area however it should be rememberd that this will add to the biodiversity value of the area. In the Dodder Valley Park wildflower areas for example there is grass present with some dockings, thistles, and nettles.  These unwanted weeds will be removed from these areas in the coming weeks once the lily bulbs have flowered. Intervening any earlier would result in the loss of the lily planting.  In addition to this we will be sowing yellow rattle which will both suppress and outgrow the grasses and provide additional color to the area.