Peebles' Field of Dreams

David O'Leary • Published 13 Jan 2012 09:30 0 Comments

Peebles is to benefit from its very own Field of Dreams.

The town's community council has teamed up with local supermarket Tesco to revitalise a nondescript patch of ground at the entrance to the store, turning it into a wildflower garden.

At present the strip of land at the corner of March Street and Dovecot Lade lies untended but community council secretary Katharine Mathison hopes to turn it into a haven for insects and flowers.

And just like the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, it is hoped that 'if you build it they will come'.

Planting wildflowers or a strip of meadow helps to sustain and encourage a mini ecosystem which in turn plays a part in maintaining wild species, preventing them going into decline.

Katharine said: "I saw such an initiative taking place down in England and thought why not do something similar in Peebles?

"Butterflies and various other insects seemingly thrive in wildflower gardens. Tesco agreed to allow us use the land straight away and we hope to begin preparing the garden in the coming days. Hopefully it will be fully up and running by late March/early April."

Since the 1950s, large swathes of flowering meadows and hedgerows have disappeared.

Birds, of course, rely heavily on Wildflowers both in the summer and in the winter, when their dried seeds form a major source of their diet.

Small wildlife animals form nests in winter in the dead leaves and stems of wildflowers and insects rely on the nectar from wildflowers for their survival, as do butterflies who also use the wildflowers for the development stages of their larvae.

Tesco corporate affairs manager Doug Wilson: "Tesco was approached by Peebles Community Council to look at the possibility of becoming involved in the initiative and to explore what could be done to make a real feature on the area of land.

"We were delighted to be asked and to become involved, it will be great to see the Field of Dreams develop."

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This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 13 Jan 12

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