Comparing wildflower seeds with Meadowmat

I had a lovely chat with Roger Giles from Giles Landscapes this morning.  It's always good to catch up with Roger, he's a very experienced landscaper with a wicked sense of humour and he's a real plantsman.

Roger was telling me about his clients at one of the East Anglian Universities who, keen to have a wildflower meadow beneath their classroom windows, engaged Giles Landscapes to prepare the ground and create a wild meadow from seed.  Sadly, they were initially disappointed with the results...nothing to do with Roger I hasten to add, they just hadn't reckoned on it taking so long for the seed to germinate, the plants to grow and then flowering to get going. 

On another area of the same site, Roger installed some Meadowmat and the results were completely different.  Yes, it cost more than seed, but the customers were able to realise their dream an awful lot quicker.

I've "lifted" these pictures from Roger's blog http://blog.gileslandscapes.co.uk/ I think you'll agree that the difference is remarkable.  Oh- and do please visit Roger's blog, you'll find out about a wildlife gardening competition he's been running for schools and about his work at Chelsea flower show

Meadowmat in its first season

wildflower seed in its first season