When to plant a wildflower meadow

wild flowers in spring

Traditional wildflower meadows look their absolute best in late spring and early summer but unlike cultivated plants or turf, we can't go into the garden centre, buy a meadow in flower, bring it home and plant it.

Creating a really good, species rich meadow that will look amazing and benefit wildlife requires patience - and plenty of it.

I installed a small area of Meadowmat wild flower matting quite soon after Q Lawn' launched the product.....around April 2011.  In that first summer, I was pleased with the number of flowers I had and the attention it recieved from insects, particularly bumblebees, but I had been hoping for a more spectacular floral display.  This summer, my patience was rewarded with a lovely show of flowers that lasted from May until the end of July.  Sadly, horrible weather all summer meant not too many butterflies and bees came to visit but I did see my first ever Hawker dragonfly....it was HUGE (and rather ugly).

The little area of meadow I started from seed at the same time as installing my Meadowmat also did well this year.....see....I just needed more patience.....but I'm not convinced that the plants I enjoyed so much this year actually came out of that seed packet.  They're all indiginous to my garden and I spent 26 years pulling out dead nettles, campions and mallow before I saw the light.



birdsfoot trefoil seed head

Mother Nature likes to sow wildflower seeds from late summer through to autumn.  Now as a gardeny type of person, I'm used to sowing seeds in spring...probably in the greenhouse...and then having them flower (or fruit) that same summer and I think that maybe I've got into bad habits by doing that. 

Horticulturists and plant breeders are incredibly clever, they've managed to tweak plants so that they do what we want them to do, when we want them to do it. Not so wild flowers.  Wild flowers do their own thing.  They set seeds when the weather tells them to, and those seeds germinate when the time is right for them...not necessarily for us.  That's why, when sowing a wildflower meadow from seed, it's best to do it now....in autumn.  You may have to wait until spring for some of the species to germinate....you may have to wait until spring 2015...some seeds are fickle.  But patience will pay off.

lay wildflower matting for speedy meadow establishment

 

If you're like me....impatient...lay some wild flower matting.  Most of the seeds are already germinated and you're effectively buying 12 months worth of time.  It can be installed at any time of year, but for best results I'd be inclined to install it in autumn so that the roots can get really well established into your soil then, come the spring, all the plant needs to do is grow and flower.

 

So when is best to plant a wildflower meadow? 

Using Meadowmat, it can be whenever suits you but for best results think autumn/winter and if you want the greatest possible number of flowers in the first summer, definitely lay Meadowmat before mid April.    Seed from perennial wild flowers can also be sown at any time of year but as these plants haven't been improved by plant breeders, it's best to copy nature and sow them in september/october or maybe november if the soil is still workable. 

Meadowmat wildflower turf                                 Meadowmat wildflower meadow seeds

Sowing wildflower meadows from seed

September and October are without a doubt the best months for creating a wild flower meadow from seed.  After all, it's when most seeds are distributed naturally...wherever I wander I see seedheads in various stages of development, wild berries are ripening and on the ground, there are a few tiny seedlings just beginning to show themselves.

In early autumn the soil is still lovely and warm, it's nice and moist and conditions are perfect for setting seed.  Some wild flower seeds need to have a frost or two on them before they'll germinate....so for species such as yellow rattle or cowslip, it's no good having the seed packets languishing in a drawer until spring.

How to grow wild flowers from seed

I have a sneaking suspicion (actually I'm sure) that when I began my experiment to compare wildflower seeds with Meadowmat, I didn't allow enough time to prepare the ground properly.  It's absolutely vital that every single perennial weed is removed before sowing a wildflower meadow.  I chose to dig out the docks and the bindweed that had sneaked into the patch, but I think I should really have swallowed my pride and my anti-herbicide policy and resorted to using a systemic weedkiller.  It might have saved me a lot of kneeling and weeding. 

With deep rooted weeds and grasses out of the way, the ground can be prepared as though you were going to lay Meadowmat

Then instead of unrolling Meadowmat - simply sprinkle on wildflower meadow seed at a rate of 5 grams per square metre..careful! If you spread it on too thickly you'll find that when the plants do grow, they'll out-compete each other.

Keep the soil moist, and the birds at bay; watch out for cats, who love to dig in freshly prepared soil, and wait for mother nature to do the rest.

Which is best? wildflowers from seed or Meadowmat?

If you have patience and perseverence, growing a wildflower meadow from seed is a cost effective way of supporting butterflies and bees in your garden.  If you're less patient - try installing Meadowmat OR better still, combine the two techniques.  Have areas of Meadowmat for instant maturity and seed in between them to help keep costs down.

sowing wild flower seeds

wild flowers, food for bees and butterflies

This week I have been a little bit cheeky, and whether or not I will get away with it remains to be seen. At the end of march, Q Lawns exhibited at the Ecobuild show in London and I managed to escape the stand long enough to have a good chinwag with Nick Mann from Habitat Aid who is of a similar mindset to myself in that we both want to see more gardeners, and indeed farmers, creating and conserving wildlife habitat.  Nick sold me a little packet of "Meadow Anywhere" seeds for a very reasonable price.

Now if it were for my garden, I would use Meadowmat any day of the week, but I have a special plan for Nick's seeds and it involves a teeny bit of sculduggery.  Meadowmat just wouldn't be subtle enough for this.

My husband is a farmer, and, in common with many of the farmers in this area, regards wild flowers as weeds that compete with his crops for light, water and nutrients.  I can see his point, but being born under the star sign Libra, I like to think there's a way of finding a balance.

nutrient poor soil in a sunny spot..ideal for wild flowers

Around some of the corn storage sheds are areas where the soil and chalk banks have been dug away to improve access and where potentially, wild flowers could grow completely undisturbed by farming activity.  Conversely, they won't affect crops apart from helping to support pollinating insects in the area......can you see how I'm thinking? 

There is no water supply to the area, and anyhow, we're about to be hit by a hosepipe ban, so Meadowmat just won't do, but I think I can get Nick's seeds to grow here...doesn't matter if it takes 2 or 3 years for them to get really well established....I can wait.  So, armed with a packet of seeds and a promise from Carol on BBC Breakfast that it will rain here tomorrow, I have spread my wild flower seeds. I haven't prepared a seed bed...Mother Nature never does so I know I can expect germination to be erratic; Now all I need to do is wait.

I suppose technically, I am now a Guerilla Gardener...not something I would normally advocate, but in this case, I can placate the farmer with Lasagne and Apple Pie...not everyone has that luxury so please be careful about planting things on someone else's land and I can't stress enough that guerilla plants or seeds should be from native stock.