Below is a message from Miles of some areas at Poundbury Hillfort where you can pick other wildflower seeds.
The best plants to collect seed from will be growing on the steep banks of the Hillfort. It doesn’t matter which plants the children collect seed from as they will all be very happy growing in the Damers Meadow. Include both “flowers” and grasses.
Many of the plants growing on the steep slopes are very small so the children will need to get down close to the ground and look carefully for the seeds.
The seeds will be very small, so ideal for small hands to collect.
Look for plants that are flowering, then look for the seed heads near the flowers. They will be very close to to the flowers. There might be a few species where all the flowers have disappeared leaving only seeds.
In some plants, the seeds are very easy to see, in others they will be hidden inside a pod. Flowers of the pea family turn into pods which look very much like tiny pea pods (will they know what pea pods are?). Flowers of the daisy family turn into a seed head full of hundreds of wispy seeds attached to fluff which helps them fly in the wind. The seeds (with their fluff) need to be teased apart and caught before they blow away in the wind.
Make sure to pick the seeds, but not to pull the plants out of the ground. The seeds can be sowed on the Great Field, take them home and plant them in your garden or in some pots.
Please send in any photos of seeds that you find to Year1@damers.dorset.sch.uk
