The long and the flat of it

The Plantlife advice: ‘How to mow your lawn for wildlife’ at bit.ly/wildlife-lawn (mentioned in Have Your Say, August issue ) was very helpful. However, last year I decided to create a meadow. We sowed some yellow rattle seeds in the grass and then I planted a wildflower plug plants mix.

The plants grew well and attracted bees and butterflies, but over the past couple of months, it’s become a mess, with grass that’s very long in some areas and flat in others. I’ve cut some of it back but it’s still messy and I don’t want to behead the plants! How can we prevent this next year?

Sue Johnson, Sussex

Plantlife says: Yellow rattle will take a few years to get going; cutting grass in September once the seeds have fallen will mean you’ll have much more of it next year, which will reduce grass growth substantially. You could mow a narrow border around the edge once a month to make it look more managed and provide a different home for other flowers and insects.