A wildflower meadow for your garden

You can create a wildflower meadow on any scale to suit the size of your garden. An ideal area would be quite sunny and one that isn't disturbed by humans or pets too often, but a strip of lawn can work just as well.

  1. It is always best to start with bare soil if possible, so first you need to remove any existing vegetation.
  2. Remove the top few inches of soil - or just bury the topsoil and raise the subsoil to the surface - to reduce fertility. Wildflowers tend to thrive on low fertility soils free of disturbance and competition from vigorous grasses.
  3. Rake the soil to break it up and then sow in a suitable seed mix.
  4. For larger areas, it's best to sow your seeds in the spring. If you have a smaller area where competition will be more of an issue, sow the seeds in pots during the autumn. Leave them outside to grow strong through the spring and then plant them out the following autumn.
  5. You might like to include some cornfield annuals in your seed mix such as poppy and cornflower. These will give a great display in the first year whilst the perennial wildflowers establish. Which flowers are best for my meadow?

How should I manage my meadow?


Posted in: Flowers on 07 May 2015


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