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Author Topic: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?  (Read 5171 times)

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« on: March 29, 2012, 10:47:02 pm »
I have a new area in my flower garden, 35' long by about 5' wide, which I would like to plant up as a pseudo wildflower meadow come prairie this year.  Does anyone have any experience of this?   What I mean by 'pseudo' is that it won't be solely wild flowers, but some garden flowers which are single-flowered and fairly simple.
 
Because it won't be ready to sow or plant into for a couple more months, I think I will have to start many plants off in modules, then perhaps add some seeds direct to flower later.  I thought I would mix annuals and perennials so I get a show this year and next.   I'm not sure though whether to have an even spread of all the varieties, or to do it in sweeps and patches.  Should I include some grasses?

Any tips or favourite flowers to include?
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2012, 11:09:12 pm »
I think they're harder to manage when you do include grasses, although the flower heads above and against the grass seeds look so very beautiful....

Our neighbour tried to create a hay meadow, bought a seed mix.  First year there were quite a few nice flowers but very little grass.  He asked us to make hay for him, which we did as late as feasible - very late August, I think it would have been, or maybe 1st or 2nd Sept - the bales were solid and no-one could lift them more than a few feet!  We had to use a tractor with front-loader to help collect them and bring them in, no-one could stook them!  Much to everyone's surprise, the "hay" was spectacular - all the stock loved it and it smelled and looked beautiful.

Second year, very few flowers, thick unruly grasses.  Not sure why, except that because of the timings and logistics, the hay may not have been wilted and turned as much as would have been ideal for shaking all the flower seeds out - but then most of the flowers had seeded long since.   ???  Hay-making was not attempted.  I'm not sure what to expect this year...

Another neighbour has a 'wildflower meadow' (patch of grass) in front of their house, and it is gorgeous.  They mow it once, very late (October) every year, and it comes and comes again year after year. 

A nature reserve hay meadow on the moorlands a few miles away has the very rare globeflower and melancholy thistle.  I have yet to manage to see the latter in flower, but we usually manage to catch the globeflower.  I don't quite know why, but it is so beautiful you almost want to cry when you look at it.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2012, 11:13:22 pm »
Hi don't know if it's any help, but if it's for insects I bought a mix, I've sown in modules but I'm going to plant out on a grassy banking. There seems to be annuals, biannuals and perenials in there, but they aren't listed. There has recently been a set of 3 programmes on TV by Sarah Raven (?) where she got councils involved in growing for bees etc, maybe some info on BBC site? They did look good.

Hermit

  • Joined Feb 2010
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2012, 07:38:55 am »
I am a Teasle fan at the moment, I have got it growing up here now and it is a fantastic plant. Structural, beautiful and good for the birds. I would love a wildflower meadow but I have settled for a wild flower boggy area!

Smalltime

  • Guest
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2012, 07:55:17 am »
Looked into it, it seemed expensive and a lot of the stuff wont flower for 18 months after you seed it. A long term project but very worthwhile.  :thumbsup:

Victorian Farmer

  • Guest
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #5 on: March 30, 2012, 09:50:10 am »
Im on the first part 3 ft chickin wire fence 60 foot long and naw doin the sides the seed mix was 60 pound 3 lots onley get a 3rd this yere .seen them doin it on the tv.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2012, 11:19:13 pm »
Thank you everyone.  I did see the Sarah Raven programmes which gave me the confidence to have a go here, but she did have some failures with seeds, which is partly why I will plant in modules first.  Also because I can't put anything into the area for at least a couple of months so I need that headstart.  I have a couple of packets of wildflower seeds and will use them in some areas, but I think I will also have a 'prairie' look, with some simple garden flowers too, and I will grow mostly flowers from named packets so I know what I'm getting ie not mixes.  We have a separate wildflower area - 'the wildlife strip' - where we grow teasels, lady's smock, elecampane, some vetches, wild roses, in amongst the shrubs and trees.  There is plenty of room there for truly wild flowers and I love your idea of the melancholy thistle Sally - if only for its wonderful name.  Wherever would I get seeds for that?  Did you know that all thistles are part of the daisy family?  I didn't.  There is a garden globe flower which is very like the native one which I have been trying to get for years.

One worry with seed mixes, especially if I am going to cut it for hay, is not knowing if any poisonous plants will appear.   I like the idea of having extra flower hay to add to our meadow hay, as the sheep will love that.  This year we are cutting our hay on our own land again for the first time in about ten years, so we are looking forward to seeing which flowers have survived those years of grazing.

VF - we can compare results through the year.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

sabrina

  • Joined Nov 2008
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2012, 02:54:38 pm »
I did try in an area we fenced off some years ago but the ground was too wet. We then went on to plant over 100 willow trees which were fast growing and have helped dry up the ground. Planted daffs as the wild flowers still did not come so gave up on that.

simba

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2012, 12:35:52 pm »
not sure this will be of help but wild flowers dont like too much nutriant in soil in my experiance am trying a shade wild flower bed at the mo

Mel Rice

  • Joined Sep 2011
Re: Has anyone made a wildflower meadow?
« Reply #9 on: May 04, 2012, 02:39:45 pm »
My horse field is a wild flower meadow......unfortunatly he doesnt like the buttercups so they have taken over BIGTIME I wish there was a weed killer that just targeted them as I do like to see the lovely colours of the rest!

 

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