If you are interested in having some wildflowers in your garden, then well done you, its a great option even for smaller gardens. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks with biodiversity gains likely and pollinators attracted to your new meadow.
But you may have bought a packet of seed, followed the instructions and then got very little out of it. This is quite a common occurance with wildflower meadows. This is partly due to the time meadows take to establish, and the challenging germination requirements of some of the seeds.
Rebranded weeds?
Before we get into the how of a wildflower meadow I cannot stress enough that you need to know the ‘what’. Perhaps you have walked past some wildflower seed in a garden centre and thought it looked wonderfully colourful and vibrant, and perhaps you’ve picked up that packet and brought it home with you. Maybe the first year you get a flush of colour, only to find that from then on you are left with weeds.
There is a reason for this – you’ve been sold the wrong type of meadow.
Wildflower meadows are slow to establish, so sometimes seed is loaded with annual plants like poppies and cornflowers. That gives you the riot of colour seen on the packet. But that isn’t a wildflower meadow, and you are not in any way at fault for not knowing that! Those weeds you’ve seen? Those are the real wildflowers.
If you’ve been a gardener for any amount of time you will likely have been called to deal with weeds in a garden, only to find yourself cultivating the same plants in another. I get it though – some weeds are just plain ugly. Give them time to flower and see if you like them. It might surprise you.
Not just no mow may
To begin your meadow you need to identify an area suited for it. Generally speaking an open area in full sun is best. There is shady wildflower seed available though, but I wouldn’t try it in deep shade. Instead you may have more luck with naturalising bulbs.
Clear the area completely of vegetation. This can be done via spraying with herbicide, manual weeding, removing turf and so on. If using herbicides make sure they are not residual herbicides, and pay attention to the instructions for when it is safe to work the area again. Glyphosate based products usually have a very short time active in the soil, so they are often the best for this method providing they don’t also contain any longer lasting chemicals.
Once the area is prepared you have a few options.
Seed is the most common and cost effective option available. It is also one of the most difficult to get established. Don’t fall for the meadow seed that contains little more than pretty annuals that won’t be back next year. Buy from a recommended specialist supplier. It’s no more expensive, and you will get a better overall result. If you are sowing this yourself then take care to reserch the list of species included in your mix. A good supplier should give you adequate information about which plants are right for your soil and desired result. Many have pictures to illustrate whats in the mix. Just be aware of seed mixes containing grass. Whilst there are some great meadow grasses out there, they have a tendancy to take over if not kept in check.
The fastest but most expensive method is wildflower turf. I have good relationships with wildflower turf suppliers and will happily provide a quote for wildflower turf. It is a great option as it is easier to lay than lawn turf, and comes with a mix of pre-established wildflowers so you get the most out of your meadow from the very beginning.
You can also go for a grassy meadow and leave your lawn to get long and add in seed. No mow may is a great idea for biodiversity but it isn’t necessarily the beginnings of a meadow. The wildflowers need to be present in your grass for it to look good – otherwise you just have long grass. Pretty, but a meadow it isn’t. If you are doing this method then I would recommend buying plug plants, or removing small areas of grass and adding seed.
When to sow seed
The best time to sow wildflower seed is in the autumn, generally speaking. It can be done in spring, but if we get a very hot dry spring, or alternatively a very cold wet spring, seed may not take well. Autumn usually is warm enough, but with the added rains to keep it moist to start germination.
Be aware that some seeds in your mix won’t take at all. Others, such as the much coveted Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) are notoriously difficult to get to germinate at all. Some seeds will germinate really really well, and try and take over. In this instance, you can weed out some of those plants in the first few years and keep re-sowing until other plants come through. Or just leave it to go wild!
Meadow maintenance
Once established, meadows need to be cut at the right time, and in the right way. Depending very much on your seed mix, there are various times of year you can cut the meadow, and indeed it will need it.
The main times are late summer, and autumn. Refer to your seed mix instructions on which is best for you, but generally speaking you cut in August when you have a largely spring flowering meadow, and November onwards when you have summer flowers.
Some will say, and indeed I was taught that a scythe is best used to cut meadows. And if you are in a vast public garden with a large investment (and plenty of PPE and Health and Safety training on proper scythe use) then by all means use one. To be realistic though, you can cut with a mower – as long as it does not mulch it – or cut it down with a strimmer.
The key thing to do here is to let the cut sit on the ground for a while. In clients gardens where this is not possible as I’m not back for several weeks say, then the best method is to pick it up but give it a good shake to let all of the seed fall back to the ground. The goal here is to not feed the soil and leave it improverished by not giving it back any nutrients. If you can leave it on the ground for 24 hours or more, then I recommend doing so.
Do you need help establishing your own wildflower meadow? Or is your meadow all grass and no colour? Then give me a call today on 07546750985 or email me at ben@mallowgardens.co.uk