wild flowers
Wildflower Meadows
What could be lovelier than a wildflower meadow in full bloom? If you want to have a go at creating one, now is the ideal time to get started. Your meadow can be almost any shape or size you want, even a container will do.
1. The easiest way is to sow an annual wildflower mix. These mixes do not contain any grasses and have a very long flowering period because they contain both native and non native wildflowers. Just assume you are sowing annual flower seeds. You will need a prepared bed – either an existing flower bed or area of garden. It will need to be weed and grass free and have been dug over. Then just sow the seed, sit back and enjoy an amazing display which will carry on blooming all summer. It will need to be cut down in late autumn once the flowers are over and then re-sown each spring.
2. You can use special wildflower turf which you can buy ready to lay. You should look for a turf which has a 50:50 mix of wildflowers and native grasses. Once again you will need to select your site, remove the vegetation and prepare a reasonable surface to take the turf. All you then do is lay the turf in the same way you would for a garden lawn. It will need watering until it establishes. Once this is done the annual maintenance is the same as for a perennial meadow.
3. The ‘proper’ way. This is probably the most difficult to achieve and will take the longest time. However if you want a ‘genuine’ wildflower meadow this is what you will need to do. Choose an area of your garden where the soil is not very fertile and is reasonably free from perennial weeds. You may need to spray off the vegetation or even strip the topsoil. Then sow a good quality perennial wildflower seed mix. If necessary you can sow a nurse mix of cornflower annuals at the same time to give a good show in the first year. In midsummer, once the annuals have set seed, the meadow will need cutting and the vegetation can be removed as hay or composted. Your meadow will then need to be kept mown until the following spring when the cycle will begin again.
First Published March/April 2013 By The Dart
Colette Charsley 01803 722449
