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An experimental meadow of wildflowers at Worth Park has been turned into works of art by a nonagenarian painter.

The meadow was laid with biodegradable matting with the aim of increasing wildflower plant diversity, which in turn provides an essential food source for pollinators as well as other wildlife.

Beryl Hovell has tracked the development of the park’s meadow area over the past three years. She created her first artwork in 2022, at the age of 90, and has recently completed her third painting.

All three paintings are on display in the Community Room at Worth Park.

Beryl said: “My friend Jackie, who is one of the volunteer gardeners at Worth Park, took me to see their newly seeded wildflower meadow in 2022. What a lovely colourful sight. As an artist it inspired me and once that vision was in my head, I had to paint it on canvas.

“A year later I painted it again. It was interesting to see the differences and variations in growth, flowers, and colours.

“In 2024 I saw it for the third time. Now there were more grasses and fewer flowers. When the wind caught the grasses, I loved the movement and tried to capture it in the painting together with small dots of colour emerging.

“A photograph can capture one view, but an artist can condense a number of views into one and also inject a feeling of movement that a camera cannot.”

For more information visit our Worth Park page.