Lessons learned from the Establishment of Wildflower Strips

5 Takeaways from the Flemish Land Agency

Wim Vandenrijt & Dries van Hecke, VLM - Vlaamse Landmaatschappij (Flemish Land Agency)

The Flemish Land Agency (VLM) is the government agency that supports open spaces in Flanders, Belgium. For BEESPOKE we established four pilot areas and work together with 40 farmers, including some fruit growers. The farmers establish wildflower strips that VLM and other BEESPOKE partners monitor closely. Both the pollinator population and the species-dependent plant preferences of bees were monitored.

In the flower fields VLM uses as many native species as possible. For our region that means we use plants like wild carrot, cornflower, brown knapweed or tansy. Cultivars or introduced species either don’t produce nectar or the nectar is not reachable for the indigenous wild bees. We do add more typical agricultural crops like alfalfa, buckwheat, black mustard or dill since these species support wild bees. These species also help to bring down the costs of the wildflower seed mixes.

Here are 5 takeaways that we have

1. Perennial mixes provide food resources throughout the season