[Steph Hen]

There are often posts on here asking for advice on wildflower meadow creation. They get plenty of good advice back about reducing soil fertility, removing perennial weeds like docks, and ongoing management. I've been part of meadow creations through my bumblebee research, rspb and have surveyed sites for SNH as well as planting seed and plugs in my own ground. It's not always easy. Not as simple as seed companies or a quick wiki-how post would have you believe.

I've just come accross this document: minutes from an uk expert panel meeting on the topic. It's fascinating for anyone who's interested:

http://www.magnificentmeadows.org.uk/assets/pdfs/Summary_notes_from_meadow_restoration_workshop_2015.pdf

It's from 2015; maybe there are more recent minutes somewhere, but I found this and don't have time to look for more.

[Fleecewife]

Hi Steph Hen.  Thank you so much for posting that link.  It is indeed fascinating and helpful.  I have posted elsewhere about how we will be, from next year, allowing a 1+ acre area to become wildflower meadow.  From the small amount of the report you gave that I've had time to read so far, I've been able to see that what I am talking about is the creation/enhancement/natural regeneration question.  I shall work my way through the rest of the papers, but I've realised I also need qualified advice.  Looking through the list of attendees, the only Scottish members are a PHD student looking into seeds, and Scotia Seeds, neither of whom on first sight would be giving advice on natural regeneration.


I think what we will have to do, given our ages and rubbish health, is go for a meadow enhancement option, or we'll never see the results. Now the grasses are flowering, I can see that the ground is already more impoverished than I had thought, so it's ready and waiting for flowers.    Can you advise where I should go for appropriate advice, including selective grazing?


You mention your bumble Bee research.  I would be interested to learn about that too.  A whole lot of what we do here is with Bumbles in mind.  There's a recent report out showing that bees prefer to seek pollen and nectar from wild flowers rather than their garden equivalents.  That's my garden efforts put in their place then    and hence the wildflower meadow plans.  We live in an area where there are few wildflowers (or garden flowers) but there are some along roadsides, and a few types have appeared on our land.

[Steph Hen]

I think what we will have to do, given our ages and rubbish health, is go for a meadow enhancement option, or we'll never see the results. Now the grasses are flowering, I can see that the ground is already more impoverished than I had thought, so it's ready and waiting for flowers.    Can you advise where I should go for appropriate advice, including selective grazing?


You mention your bumble Bee research.  I would be interested to learn about that too.  A whole lot of what we do here is with Bumbles in mind.  There's a recent report out showing that bees prefer to seek pollen and nectar from wild flowers rather than their garden equivalents.  That's my garden efforts put in their place then    and hence the wildflower meadow plans.  We live in an area where there are few wildflowers (or garden flowers) but there are some along roadsides, and a few types have appeared on our land.

Glad you liked; I always read your bee related topics and posts with interest fleecewife.

Good to hear that your ground is impoverished! (Feels so wrong saying that!)
Ive not had time to read it all either, and what I have read I've skimmed - There is a discussion in there about about grazing; small cattle like Shetland or dexters or small hardy ponies come up trumps.

There's lots to glean about the sowing of seeds too; varying harrowing techniques plus rolling, or green hay or plugs. Perhaps a mixture of all of them would be most appropriate if you can get local flower rich green hay? I've always felt that it's better to establish something really well, rather than trying to do huge strips and fields. So if you have particularly poor bits of your proposed meadow, I'd try plugs there, and plan to give them tlc, water and hand weed if necessary. Even if you only get 10 plants of maybe 3 new species established, they will multiply (and you can move the seedy green hay from these yourself).

And if the ground is too rich, plant flowering shrubs, trees and hedges (which you've posted previously). I dread to think how much money (private, charity and taxpayers) has been spent on field margins which have fairly failed to come to much, been overrun in a couple of years or since ploughed in. Had 1/10th of this money been spent on vertical bee food, the vast majority would be thriving by now.

I will send you some wee red clover plants if you want?

I studied nesting ecology. What nests where, what eats them, genetics, how to find nests, and a bit of insecticides.
 

[Fleecewife]

So much research to do - exciting but a big job. Still, a year to get started.  At the moment we're looking at the Plantlife website, which of course in Scotland is based in Stirling.  Most of it though seems to be about going to look at someone else's meadow, establishing meadows in known conservation areas, plus where to get funding.  We don't need any of that, but there is other advice on the site.  It's a starting point anyway.


I think my first job is to identify the grasses we currently have, plus record any wildflowers, both in the meadow and in the general area.  I would like to be able to record bee, hoverfly, butterfly and moth species, etc, but the little devils don't keep still for long enough 


I'm not aware of anyone who has species rich hay locally.  Also because there are two distinct soil types, and therefore vegetation types, drainage etc, I think patches of plug plants would work best.  I have some waiting in the sidelines, but it's too soon to set them out or they'll be grazed to destruction.  I do have time though to propagate from seed the wild flowers we do have, to be ready for next year.


Hebs are the iconic conservation grazers, so no probs there  .  We can also let them on and off the land as required.


For Bumble Bee nests, we have plenty of varied areas for them.  As well as hedgehogs hibernating under our hay (stacked on pallets), we find a bee nest or two every year  .  You mention what eats them - what does?


I'm off to take some pics and do some identifying.........


ps - I'd love some red clover please, if you think the sheep wouldn't demolish it.  I will of course pay postage

[YorkshireLass]

I work in conservation (specifically grazing), but so far that has been more maintenance and restoration from scrubland.
My new job, however, will shortly involve some green hay use, overseeding, etc. I'd be glad to report back on these activities if anyone will find it useful?


Trouble is it is just so variable - if anyone gives you a concrete timeline, walk away!


Different species, breeds, and individuals have different preferences for different food plants over the year. The Grazing Animals Project is pretty much defunct but there is valuable information on the website about the use of livestock to recreate grasslands. This season is so dry that I'm chucking in hay to make sure nobody is going hungry!


If I were working on my own land, I think I'd assess what I already have, work out the soil type / history if I know it, note the general weather patterns.
If I felt up to it, I could attempt an NVC survey. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4259 The results could guide expectations and management.

[Fleecewife]

<<< My new job, however, will shortly involve some green hay use, overseeding, etc. I'd be glad to report back on these activities if anyone will find it useful? >>>


I for one would certainly be interested in your feedback.  I'll also add the NVC to my study list.

So many skills on this site

[bazzais]

Ive only been succesful in small areas - but Ive found sometimes the least preparation and the crappest lloking undersoil is the best place to spawn small amounts of wildflowers from seed.

[DippyEgg]

What type of flowers would you put in a wildflower meadow? Which ones would be most successful? We've got clover (normal white clover) and buttercups in our field. What can we add?

[Fleecewife]

There's no one simple answer to that.  I would say it depends on your location, your soil type and moisture levels, and if you want to graze the meadow (you wouldn't for example sow foxglove in a grazing pasture).
Our proposed meadow has two very different soil types - one free draining and fertile, the other glacial clay and sometimes waterlogged, so we intend to have flowers both local to our area, and appropriate to each set of soil conditions.


I have a year to research the right flowers, then to see if I can grow them and get them to establish.  There's the added problem here that our neighbours' herbicides may drift over the hedges onto the new meadow.

[Zebedee]

What type of flowers would you put in a wildflower meadow? Which ones would be most successful? We've got clover (normal white clover) and buttercups in our field. What can we add?

Test you soil ph first in two or three spots. If you have loads of creeping buttercup, it may need some lime. Emorsgate Seeds will have the right mix for your soil type but I'd keep cutting and removing the grass first and see what comes up naturally. You'd be surprised. Have a few experimentail patches too which you cut, scarify and sprinkle on whatever takes your fancy. I've been grazing and cutting for a few years now and I've just started to see the odd orchid pop up which is an indication things are moving in the right direction. If you have a field which is just basically grass with very little wildflower content, you could take off two or even three cuts of grass if you don't have cows or sheep. If you've put some hay rattle in you'll need to let it produce seed first though as it's an annual and grows from seed each year.

The key thing in my view is not so much what you sow or plant in your field but rather the way you manage what's there already. And keep on doing it, year on year in a consistent way. Never think in terms of instant solutions that come out of a seed packet. 
 

[Part time dabbler]

Damn.

When I made the decision to allow about an acre to grow wild (it is too steep for me to be comfortable on the ride on tractor) I thought it was the "easy" option. Yes the grass has grown this year but no wild flowers to speak of. Now getting towards the end of the first summer I need to decide what to do and this is where you fantastic prople come in.

Do I leave the grass to naturally die back?
Do I grit my teeth, put the hand petrol mower on the highest setting and give it a bit of a cut?
Something else entirely?

I am based in Cornwall near Looe so lets of rain but some stunning weather as well

[Zebedee]

You need to cut and remove unwanted species i.e grasses and get the ground grazed if you can, certainly early season and late. The flowers will come. If you can't get animals in then your fallback is repeated cutting. Don't leave grass cuttings to rot in situ as you're simply fertilising the ground which will favour rank grass species over herbs. You could let the sward grow May/June/July and spot what appears. You could also try a small amount of a decent seed mix of local or British origin and see what comes up in a few patches you create by scarification or raking. 

On an acre of sloping ground, getting a topper or towed mower in would be infinitely preferable to a lawn mower.
Let the cuttings dry for a few days and turn to hay (which will make them light and easy to handle) then rake it all up into heaps and remove from the field. After cutting, when the grass is low, is a good time to create bareish patches and sow wildflower seeds which can start to sprout or overwinter if they need exposure to the cold. As to what species, see what's growing on local SSSI sites near you of similar landscape/soil type and find the mix that's nearest to this.   

[greengumbo]

Some great links here and discussions.

We are on year 2 of converting an arable field, previously winter barley.

First year we sowed a lot of perennials onto the bare surface including a lot of garden plants we have seeds left over from (lupins, bell flower etc). We then sowed some native grass mix with yellow rattle, eyebright, phacelia, borage included as well.

The ground was still hugely bare by the end of the year but lots of perennials had established.

This year we sowed a lot more native perennial and annual flower and grass mix (biased toward bee friendly plants) and the meadow looked fantastic. The yellow rattle from last year was all over the place as well.

The thought now is to cut the meadow in September once seeds have set and remove the cuttings. I then want to use plugs to put in specific species next year.

Thoughts ? Is september too late / early to cut ? Should we cut more than once next year ?

Cheers !

[Zebedee]

August/September are good times for cutting, particularly if you don't need forage value in a hay crop.

I don't know much about hay rattle but it's quickly become flavour of the month within the conservation/meadow restoration community if you read the literature. The best wildflower meadows I've ever seen - not SSSis or anything, just plain farmer's fields - don't have a single hay rattle plant in them. The farmer just uses low numbers of cattle, shuts them off for hay in the middle of the year and puts his animals back in afterwards when the hay crop's been taken. No outside fertiliser at all, just cow dung and farmyard muck. One or two of his fields barely have a blade of grass in them; it's all flowers like scabious, betony and zillions of orchids some years, plus the more unusual plants like dyer's greenweed. These plants have all arrived and evolved within his fields without any seed sowing at all.   

[Fleecewife]

This from the Kew Gardens website:-




<<< Hazards          Rhinanthus spp. are reputedly poisonous to livestock and are usually avoided by grazing animals. The seeds contain iridoids which used to be found as toxic contaminants in bread cereals.>>>


So just take care how much your livestock eats.