CIISA- ROB LEE’S WILDFLOWER FARM

DISCLAIMER : With each recording I took I asked the land before I pressed play and I gave gratitude and said thank you after I need the recordings. I also took a few minuets with the landscape before I started recordings to acclimatise myself with the space and see what I could hear sonically to try to understand the space. With each area I left offerings of flowers that I had picked earlier those days to give something back to the land that allowed me to record it.

Rob Lee’s wildflower farm is situated on the outskirts of Shrewsbury and has been running for close to 10 years now. The farm is not what you might envision when you think of a typical farm. One large field plays host to a multitude of wildflower beds nestled amongst silver birch and alder  windbreaks, whilst also supporting a small pond and woodland. Two polytunnels are tucked away outside the field and are full of plug plants and developing seedlings. The site breathes variety and biodiversity: Rob and his team grow over 60 different species of wildflower, ranging from well known species such as Cowslip and Primrose to more rare species like Harebell, Snakeshead Fritillary and Deptford Pink.

All of the wildflowers that are grown are perennials, meaning that they grow back every year. This makes the running of the farm relatively simple: seeds are grown in plug trays, the plugs are then planted out in the field, after about 2 years these plants will begin to produce seed, the seed is then harvested between July and October, then the seed is cleaned to almost 100% purity and then sold to be put in wildflower mixes. 

Although the farm is not organic, as it is extremely hard to do this with wildflowers, there is a focus on biodiversity and nature conservation. In summer, the fields are alive with the buzzing of bees, the dancing of butterflies, the song of birds hungry for seed, the clicks of grasshoppers, and the scurrying of small mammals. This farm is truly a haven for nature, providing both refuge and resources all year round. Rob even has his own beehives which produce the most delicious ‘wildflower’ honey you might have ever tried.

With all this life and abundance, it is no surprise that the soil is good quality. The site is predominantly a clayey soil meaning it is prone to waterlogging in periods of wet but also prone to cracking in the drier periods. Also as it is clay it is very easily compacted by the machinery used on the farm; although, an effort has been made to keep the machinery small with one tiny tractor and one combine harvester that is smaller than a large white van. Even with all this, the soil is teeming with life: worms are everywhere, sometimes you find the occasional Leather Jacket, mice and bee burrows are spread across the site, whilst the roots of all the flowers and trees are constantly working with the mycorrhizal fungi underneath the soil. All in all, it is a beautiful site, full of colour and nature, that works to give something back to Mother Nature and provide bountiful habitats for years to come.

I chose to take soil recordings in this landscape as my partner who is a biodiversity and seed specialist gave me seeds last year form Robs farm to plant in my garden. Each morning they bring me so much joy and anticipation awaiting their arrival. I also gave some of these seeds to Brockley Community Gardens where I volunteer at each week. Recently we planted them in our soil, waiting for them to flourish and make our community space abundant with wildlife and pollinators. I thought it would be relevant the understand where the came from and investigate the quality of the soil that they were grown in.

This is a combination of all of the soil recordings I took made into one to give you a better understanding of the full soundscape from the earth below.

I took these recordings at the bases of two Hazel trees

I took these recordings t the base of silver birched that were in a row on the farm. These are some of the more sonically interesting recordings that I have taken of soil so far.

This is a general field recording I took in the centre of these previous 3 spots that I recorded in.

I took these recordings at the pond because I was interred to see if there were any different sounds coming for the soil here as the soil is most likely very different to the soil 5ft away due to its moister quality. I did find that I could hear different sounds from these recordings.

I took this recordings under a Bird Cherry tree.

I took these recordings at the back of the farm towards a more wooded area. As this area is more ‘wild’ I expected to hear far more activity, this was not the case but it was significantly more ‘noisy’ than some of the stretches where the wildflowers were being gown.

This is a recording I took in one of the planting beds that was growing primrose.

This is a general field recording that I took towards the back of the farm where these previous recordings were taken.

I took these recordings at another row of birch trees further down the farm. These were also some of the most sonically interesting recordings that I have taken so far.

Here is a combination of all of the field recordings and soil recordings to give you a complete full soundscape of the farm.