The response to wildflower displays by York’s bar walls has been overwhelmingly positive – but this summer’s drought has brought unexpected challenges, council officials have said.
Liam Dennis, City of York Council’s ancient monuments lead, said flowers planted by the walls in Station Rise continued to flourish thanks to hard work behind the scenes despite the dry weather.
Council environment lead Cllr Jenny Kent said a living, breathing display had been created by the walls that was faring better than traditional flower beds would under similar conditions.
The blossoming of the flowers on the Station Rise embankment comes after seeds were sown there in the autumn as part of the council’s Walls in Bloom project.
The scheme, modelled on the Tower of London’s Moat in Bloom, aims to create a changing display of wildflowers from the spring to the autumn.
It attempts to manage areas that would have traditionally been home to landscaped flower beds in a more environmentally and financially sustainable way.
But the project attracted criticism from some when the ground was prepared for the displays last summer, with a petition launched claiming it showed the area had become neglected.
The petition, launched by Shane Sayner last year calling for the condition of York’s bar walls and parks to be reinstated, has been signed by 3,144 people to date.
Environment executive member Cllr Kent hit back against critics in April, saying she welcomed people caring about the walls but they should ask questions before stirring up unnecessary anger.
Council ancient monuments manager Mr Dennis said the Station Rise display had been successful.
He added the council had had to strike a delicate balance there meaning more non-native plant species had been included to create a show-stopping display which had been well-received.
Mr Dennis said: “It’s been a challenge because of the almost unprecedented dry spring and the current drought conditions.
“There’s been a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes and we’re grateful to volunteers and businesses who’ve helped us, we’ve had to water the flowers more than we initially thought.
“But the flowers have flourished in a way that traditional bedding plants wouldn’t have.
“The Station Rise site’s quite unique because much of the ramparts were remodelled in the Victorian period so we can be more invasive with the types of species we plant here compared to elsewhere.
“The process will take a bit longer elsewhere but hopefully residents and visitors will be able to see that in the next two to five years.”
Cllr Kent said that she had not seen a single bad reaction to the display despite previous questions and negative comments.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“In 2023 we had bedding plants that died off in similar weather and it’s not fair to compare this to the 1950s or 1970s because there’s no such thing as a normal summer anymore.
“We’ve had several people get in touch with us who are interested in what we’ve done here and who want to replicate it themselves.
“This display is a showcase for what others across York could do.”