How to create the best wildflower meadow

Hever Castle

Wildflower meadows are becoming increasingly popular for gardens as they shouldn’t require much work for beautiful results. Insects including bees and butterflies greatly benefit from wildflowers, so why wouldn’t you want to add one? You can buy all sorts of pre-made mixes now, but here I’ll tell you how to tailor your flowers to your garden!

What seeds should you pick for your wildflower meadow?

In my opinion, the best seeds will be native to your area and fit for your purpose

1) Native seeds - for Essex, a few to pick could be red clover, sea campion, meadowsweet, heather or buttercup. To find out what your native plants are, you can refer to the Wildlife Trust.

Essex Wildlife Trust, Native Plants link.

2) Fit for your purpose - you might want to encourage more pollinators, provide shade for smaller insects, or maybe grow plants that will produce lots of seeds for birds in winter. Take into consideration what you want in order to find the best plants

Where to buy wildflower seeds?

Here is a list of places that I buy from for my wildflower seeds:

• Naturescape - my favourite is the N4F bee and butterfly mix
• Landlife Wildflowers
• British Wildflower Seeds
• The Grass People

Lobsterandswan and minervacompany

Where should you plant your wildflowers?

You can plant them anywhere you like; in a pot, on your lawn, in a raised bed, or in a window box. If there are instructions (eg, plant in the shade or plant in sandy soil) you should follow them.

gabort71/iStock/GettyImages 

How to prepare the ground for seed sowing

I don’t tend to put much effort into ground prep, these are the steps I take

1) clear the ground of most weeds - I like to use a hoe, a hand trowel or a patio weeder

2) break up and ‘turn over’ the soil - using a spade, dig it into the soil to break up large sections and (once the soils is nicely broken up) I mix in a small amount of compost

TIP: don’t be tempted to use a lot of compost as it can encourage more weeds to grow and compete with your flowers!

If you’re planting in a pot, mix topsoil with a small amount of compost then put it in your pot.

How to plant wildflower seeds

The easiest way by far is to sprinkle the seeds over the area and rake a bit of soil over to cover. Make sure to water them in so they don’t fly away.

If you enjoy a bit of arts and crafts you can have a go at making seed paper, seed bombs or seed capsules/seed pills.

How to maintain your wildflower meadow

• Keep the area free of weeds - to reduce competition
• Remove dead plant material - they can be blocking light for any live plants
• Collect seeds when ready - once the seed pods have dried, chop them off to save the seeds for next year
• Or mow once the seeds have dropped into the soil

TIP: make sure to remove weeds before they go to seed!

If you make a wildflower meadow, let me know!

 

----> Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, Nate.