The Eden Project’s National Wildflower Centre (NWC) in Cornwall, UK, has warned that rising temperatures in spring and unpredictable autumns are making the task of restoring the UK’s lost meadows more difficult, reports The Guardian.
The centre, celebrating its 25th anniversary next month, promotes initiatives to restore wildflower-rich meadows, 97% of which have disappeared in the last 80 years.
Juliet Rose, the head of development at the Eden Project, notes that changing weather patterns caused by the climate emergency are making it more challenging to find suitable times to sow wildflower seeds. “We have seen sowings fail or plants showing increasing signs of distress when planted in spring – especially through those hot springs we had in the pandemic and this year. If you sow in spring the plants can fry.
“When the National Wildflower Centre started, they would have had two clear windows in which to sow seed: early autumn and spring. What we have seen is an increase in the risk for spring plantings to fail, especially if you can’t control the watering regime.”
The power of sowing seeds
This year has been especially challenging following the Met Office’s report that the UK encountered an unprecedented period of warmth and sunshine during spring 2025.
However, the NWC remains optimistic. The main goal of the NWC, established as a millennium project, was to recruit a diverse range of people from various backgrounds to participate in restoration projects, and Rose emphasises that anyone can sow seeds.
Individuals, communities, businesses, local authorities, and non-governmental organisations are supported in planting wildflowers across various locations, including fields, churchyards, roundabouts, business parks, and housing estates.
Projects in Cornwall involve planting over 10,000 devil’s-bit scabious along a main road to support the declining marsh fritillary butterfly population.
The centre has sown wildflowers in inner-city Liverpool wards such as Toxteth, Sefton, and Anfield, and has collaborated with the Canary Wharf Partnership to introduce wildflowers to London Docklands. During a session in Dundee, parkrun participants paused to collect handfuls of seed and scatter them as they ran.
Sam Alford, who leads nature connections at the Eden Project, collaborates with diverse groups of people on planting initiatives, such as military veterans and individuals dealing with physical and mental health issues. “You can see slumped shoulders rising, you can see confidence building and the excitement of seeing something grow. It’s wonderful.”
This summer, new visuals of the highly anticipated ecotourism destination, Eden Project Morecambe, were unveiled. The shell-inspired design, a sister site to the original Eden Project in Cornwall, is set to open in late 2028 and is expected to draw thousands of visitors.
