Wildflowers have evolved specific colours, shapes and scents to "advertise" their nectar and pollen to the pollinators most likely to visit them.   

Insects that are sensitive to particular wavelengths of light are attracted to flowers that exhibit colours in that range.  The bright blue of Viper's Bugloss, for example, is very attractive to bees.  Red clovers on the other hand (which appear black to bees) provide a source of nectar for butterflies.  The flowers are easily spotted by them from a distance as butterflies' colour vision extends to the red end of the spectrum.   Flat-topped yellow flowers (like Rough Hawkbit) and the white umbellifers (like Yarrow and Cow Parsley) are attractive to hoverflies as they have shorter mouth-parts than bees.  

For added attraction, colour and scent are often combined.  For instance, white flowers reflect the most light under moonlight, making them more visible than other plants in the dark.  Moths are usually active at dawn and dusk.  But to help moths find them, White Campions (Silene latifolia) also release a strong clove-like scent.  

When it comes to humans and colour, we tend to find blues, greens and purples more relaxing.  

One theory (the 'biophilia hypothesis') proposes that this is because we have learnt to associate these colours with life-giving, healthy ecosystems filled with green plants, clean blue water and expansive, reflective green-blue oceans and skies.   

When you look across the Meadows, which colour stands out to you?  If the cornfield poppies are in bloom, chances are these are the ones you will alight on first because we have more cone cells dedicated to picking up red.   Red tends to make us more vigilant and energised - perhaps why it is often chosen for sports teams?!  

You may not realise it, but you can smell the soil.  

In fact, you can detect soil compounds, like actinomycetes, at 10 parts per trillion!  Next time it rains, smell the 'earthiness' of the soil.  This is down to 'geosmin', an aromatic hydrocarbon, more specifically a 'sesquiterpenoid', a by-product of microbial metabolism.  According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, we can detect as little as 7 drops of geosmin in a swimming pool.  

Volatile aromatic compounds are released naturally by plants, including trees, to help protect themselves against disease and insect attack.  When we inhale these 'phytoncides', they stimulate the number and activity of a type of white blood cell, called 'natural killer'(NK) cells, which in turn strengthen our immune system.  Spending time in natural environments, especially forests and woodland, has been reported in many studies to reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure and improve mood.  

Looking at nature and being in a natural environment is good for us.  As American Frederick Law Olmsted put it in his 1865 report as Chair of the Yosemite Commission: "viewing nature employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it, tranquilizes it, yet enlivens it .... and through the influence of the mind over body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration of the whole body".   His writing anticipated modern psychological theories, like the 'Attention Restoration Theory': nature scenes, like the meadows before you, lull you with 'soft fascination'.  This helps to rest our direct-attention faculties, enabling us to become more relaxed and better able to perform thinking tasks.

Some reach deep down (like the common Knapweed, one of the species we are growing here, which is adored by buff-tailed bumble-bees).  You may have tried to 'evict' a dandelion that has taken up residence in your lawn - but found it has much deeper roots than you expected.  Birdsfoot trefoil is a bit of a surprise - quite dainty flowers (yellow) above ground - but deep-rooting.  Red clovers are similarly a bit deceptive above ground.  

Other plants have a much denser root system, spreading out mainly into the soil near the surface.  The cuckoo-flower and meadowsweet are examples we have found occurring naturally here.    Ribwort plantain and oxeye daisy are others you might notice.

Many occupy a more middle ground - medium depth and/or spread.   We have lots of meadow foxtails and meadow grasses here.  

The point is that, between them, all these different plants together occupy lots of soil space, from shallow to deep, in some cases to a metre or more.   This is one reason why very diverse plantings are good for maximising carbon capture and storage rates.