Our Advice Section & Customers Meadow Pictures

The recent BBC Gardeners world promotion of wildflower meadows. Monty Don recommended the idea and benefits of growing wildflower Meadows. Clearly we think this is an excellent idea as we've been supplying Native Wildflower meadows in the UK for over 25 years.

Poppies in Meadow

The BBC Gardeners World promotion of wildflower meadows pushed the basic idea that you plant perennial wildflower meadows matching the soil type that you've got. This simple idea is contrary to a lot of gardening, whereby you change the garden so you can grow the flowers that you like. With wild flowers you plant what will grow in your garden. We have a wide range wildflower meadow mixes that will match different soil types and conditions. You can either buy and plant them as a mixture of grass and wildflower seed which you sow at 4 g to the square metre

Or our 100% wildflower seed mixtures which you sow at 1.5 g.

If you have smaller areas you could consider straightforward simple wildflower border mix.

The BBC Gardeners world promotion of wildflower meadows will benefit wildlife such as Bees and Butterflies.

One of the challenges with meadows is that they take a while to get going. We often recommend to customers that they sow some annuals along with the perennial wildflowers so they get some colour in the first year.

Once established a perennial meadow can be relatively subtle, in that you get a range of flowers over the summer in amongst grass. The big advantage of wildflower meadows is that once established they grow back each year.

Bee on Cornflower

But if you sow some annuals with it the annual part can in some cases have a huge success in the first year.

  The range of pictures on this page are some that one of our customers David Anslow of Lawnview.co.uk planted for one of his customers near Stroud. They planted our MEAD3 grass and wildflower seed mixture at 4 g to the square metre and our standard Cornfield annual mixture CWF1 at 1 g.

  Following a lot hard work by David, it was planted in 2018, you can see from the photos if looks like every annual seems to have flowered. The meadow will not look like this in following years but by planting some annuals with a perennial mix may mean that you start the meadow with a very colourful show.

  If you'd like more information there is a wide range of advice and customers Meadows on our website. Or contact Tim Evans at shop@meadowmania.co.uk or Freephone 0800 0854399.

Cornfield Annuals in Flower

Wildflower seed mixes fall into two categories.  These are Annuals and Perennials.

Annual Wildflowers

Annuals are species that you sow in the Spring or the Autumn and will flower the next summer.  To come back the following year the seeds would  need to shed and the ground be cultivated or a new seed bed prepared.   Annuals are quick to grow, they cope with more fertile soils and are generally very colourful.

Perennial Wildflowers

Perennials are sown in the autumn or the spring.  They take up to 18 months from sowing to flowering.  You leave them to grow out during the summer. Enjoy them during the summer and cut them down in the autumn. The plants will grow back again the following year.  Perennials are generally sown with grass seed. Grass is a backdrop. Perennials do best on poorer soil.  Poorer soil means that nothing grows quickly which means that the wildflowers which are slow to grow can compete.

If in terms of Annual wildflower seed mixes there are now generally two types on the market.

Native annuals species

Such as Corn Poppy, Cornflower, Corn Marigold etc.

Corn Chamomile

You can buy these individually or in a mixture.  They can be sown in the autumn or the spring and should be sown at 2 g to the square metre.  The ground should be cleared of competition, the seed broadcast on top  and then rolled in.  When sowing in the spring ideally aim to sow before the second or third week in April.  Native annuals take between 10 to 12  weeks from sowing to flowering at the quickest.  Planting later than this in the spring will reduce the flowering season over the summer.

Non-native annuals species

Such as Cosmos, California Poppy etc.

Instant Sunshine

You can buy these as individual species or in complex colourful mixes.  These are increasingly popular as they are very quick to grow. They provide a mixture that is very colourful and has a long flowering season over the summer.  The preparation  should be similar to the native annuals. We would suggest a slightly higher seed rate of 3 g to the square metre. Sowing to flowering can be as quick as 8 to 10 weeks.

To try and get either of these annuals to return the following year. You would need to cut the area down at the end of the flowering season. Leave what you've cut on the ground for a few days. The seed may then shed, then remove the dead material, scarify the ground and finally roll. This way you will have created a new seed bed.

Perennial wildflower seed mixes. 

Ox eye daisy

These are supplied as complex mixes of native perennial species.  You would should choose a mix that matches the soil conditions or the site.  They include species such as Buttercup, Campion, Self Heal etc.

They are slow to establish, but once they are established they will create an attractive and diverse meadow and that flower throughout the summer.  Perennial Wildflower seed mixes will be beneficial to wildlife such as butterflies and bees.  These mixes are generally sown as a mixture of grass and wildflowers creating a meadow affect with the grass as the backdrop.

Perennial Cultivation's

The seed can be planted in the autumn or the spring.  The ground should be cleared and the grass and wildflower seed mixture broadcast at 4 g to the square metre. The ground should be rolled afterwards.  The aim is to push the seed into the ground rather than bury it too deep.

Patience is needed with these mixtures as they take some time to fully develop.  Once they have though the pleasure is in seeing them come back year after year, benefiting wildlife and giving you an interesting and beautiful area in your garden.

Annuals & Perennials

In some cases people will sow a grass & perennial wildflower seed mix at 4 g to the square metre and mix with it a native Cornfield annual mix at 1 g.  This way the annuals will flower in the first year and then the perennial meadow should come to the fore from the second year onward.

There is no right or wrong way in determining which type of wildflower seed mix you choose.  What is important is that you understand the difference between the types of species and that you manage them in a way that gets the maximum benefit from them.

If you need any more information on wildflower seed mixes then contact Tim Evans at

shop@meadowmania.co.uk or ring Freephone 0800 0854399  

If you are asking the question when should i seed a Horse Paddock. Then the following sets out some simple guidelines.

We answer this question in 2 main ways.

What is the right time for you to plant Horse Paddock grass seeds.

In terms of the issues that you may need to consider when looking to seed a horse paddock.

• All grass Leys break down over time so at some point you need to improve them or start with a new ley.
• You need to plan so that you give the new a grass a chance to establish. If sowing a new ley you should ideally keep the horses of for 12 months. If renovating an existing ley, ideally keep them off for one season.  This is important as horses can damage young grass.
• Before you spend the money on planting a new grass ley consider getting the soil tested. If you haven't done this for a while it is a good investment. If there is an issue with the soil whatever you spend on a seed could be undermined.
• You need to decide what it is that you want from the new grass. There can be a direct conflict between the type of grass that would give long-term safe grazing.  These generally have a wide range of non rye grass species in them.  As against if you need predominantly hay production. Here a mixture would generally be a narrow range of high yielding ryegrass species.

What is the right time for the Horse Paddock seeds?

Horse paddock

For grass seed to grow vigorously there needs to be ideally three good conditions.

• Firstly, a reasonable consistent warm soil temperature
• Secondly a good amount of moisture or rain
• Lastly a well prepared seed bed

The first two clearly generally are dependent on the weather.  This means generally the best times for planting are between mid March and mid May and mid August and end of September.  As we have found over the last few years the conditions are not always right even in these periods. If they are not, then wait until they are.

The better prepared the seed bed is the better establishment you will get. If sowing from new, it is generally easier to make sure you have a good seed bed. Then the seed can be broadcast and rolled afterwards.  If adding to an existing pasture, you need to cut the grass back short, harrow the ground hard, broadcast the seed and finally roll afterwards.

The rolling at the end is very important as you are trying to make a good seed to soil contact.

To successfully seed a horse paddock and improve the pasture follow this simple plan.

1. If you haven't tested the soil recently do so.
2. Decide if you want a mixture for grazing or for hay.
3. Plan so that you can keep the horses off for the appropriate length of time.
4. Plant the seeds at the time that would encourage maximum growth into a well prepared seed bed.

Following this should result in you improving the long-term grazing for your horses.

For more information on our Horse paddock click here.

YOUR ROUTE TO BETTER GRAZING

If you need any more information or advice, please feel to contact Tim Evans on either 0800 0854399.  Or at shop@meadowmania.co.uk

Native Wildflowers and Butterflies from the UK.

Cornflower and butterfly

There are over 70 different Butterfly species that have been recorded in the UK. Most of them have specific primary sources of food from plants they prefer. Much of the following information about wildflowers and butterflies has been taken from an excellent resource online at;

UKButterflies.co.uk

They have a very comprehensive site with information about most butterfly species and in particular wildflowers & butterflies. Showing which wildflowers and grasses are Butterflies primary plant food. We have taken part of their list and looked at just wildflowers that are commercially available.

On the table below; on the right is the species of Butterfly with a link to more details of the species on the UK butterflies website. On the left we have linked to the individual plant species which you can buy as seed or plugs. If there is not a link we can still get the species commercially and you would need to contact us.

Butterfly on Marigold

As with Bees their have been a big fall in numbers of Butterflies in last few years and it is important that we plant flowers that will benefit them . A  great resource for all things Butterfly can be found at the following link.

Butterfly Conservation

If you want to support native wildflowers and Butterflies thne  grow or plant some wildflowers that will suit a range of butterflies then consider either our;

Butterfly Border Mix

Butterfly Plug Plant mix

Wildflowers and Butterflies

Our Wild Flower Plugs Plants are produced as follows

• The original stock of seed has been sourced from the Wild in the UK.
• The seed is then multiplied up commercially and some of it is used to produce our plug plants.
• The plug plants can take between three to 18 months to produce a satisfactory plug.
• The Plugs are grown semi outdoors. This is so they will be frost Hardy  and can be planted out at anytime over the winter.
• The size of of plugs is 40 cc and there is a maximum of 150 per tray. You can see photos of our plug plants below.
• Different species will have different size leaves on depending on the time of year and the species.
• They will all have a very strong well developed root systems.
• Once planted, as the weather warms up, they will continue to grow and develop.
• If you have any questions or any concerns about the plugs we supply please feel free to contact us. shop@meadowmania.co.uk or 0800 0854399
  Primrose Plugs Feb

Cowslip Plugs Feb

150 plugs in a Tray in April

ox eye daisy plugs in ground in Feb