Let it all go to seed
ON Saturday it was National Meadows Day, an annual celebration of wildflower spaces across the UK. Every year, both groups and individuals open their wildflower meadows up for people to visit.
Typical meadow events include guided walks, orchid hunts, bug identification and scything workshops. If you want to enjoy one, check magnificentmeadows. org.uk to find an event near you.
But why are meadows important? Well, they are part of our cultural and natural heritage, and they sustain a huge range of wildlife, including wildflowers, fungi, bees, flies, beetles, spiders, moths, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians,
small mammals, bats and birds.
They also provide other environmental benefits including carbon storage, water retention to prevent flooding, and a habitat for crop pollinators.
However, since the 1930s they have been in serious decline. There were once natural wildflower meadows in every parish – today only 2% of the meadows that existed in the 1930s remain.
With the onset of the Second World War, millions of acres were dug up to plant cereals for the war effort, and the decline has continued – nearly
7.5 million acres of wildflower meadow have been lost since then and they are still being destroyed.
So what can we do as gardeners? Well, just letting your lawn grow will create a meadow.
It’s worth taking a look at the infamous Boris and Carrie picture. They’re in a garden sitting at a simple wooden table, surrounded what at first glance looks like an unkempt landscape. In fact these are meadow grasses that have been allowed to flower.
They might not come from the brightest of plants but they are full of pollen for creatures such as moths. It’s interesting that the intended message of this picture was one of unity and romance. Meadows evoke feelings of romance, nostalgia and beauty. And you might be surprised to see what pops up beside the grass. You might expect daisies, clover, dandelions, speedwell and buttercup, but depending on your soil type, you could also spot orchids, cowslips. oxeye daisies or harebells.
However, in general, grass dominates and tends to elbow out wild flowers. To encourage flowers that you like, you may need to reduce the grasses’ vigour by introducing semi-parasitic plants such as Rhinanthus (rattle) and Euphrasia (eyebright).
Scatter their seed in late summer and autumn on short grass. You can also introduce flowers by sowing wildflower seeds or plug plants.
Keep the meadow long all summer and delay mowing the lawn until September to give time for the wildflowers to set seed. Remove clippings as otherwise these rot down and over-fertilise the soil which will favour grasses over flowers.
It will take a couple of years to get the balance right. But if you’d like to keep your lawn pristine, you can still convert a bare patch of soil into a mini meadow.
You might just want a single species to dominate – a patch of oxeye daisies can look beautiful, or, as I recently saw by the roadside, a dazzling combination of bright red poppies and vibrant blue cornflowers growing together.
Another tactic is to select a wildflower mix of seeds. These can be planted either in spring or later on this year in early autumn which will give earlier flowering next year.
In general, wildflowers like poor soil so your preparation of the bed will mainly be removing stones and weeds, then raking to a fine tilth before sowing seed.