Wildflower meadows are hot property. In fact they are almost
a fashion statement in the ‘designer’ garden these days. But
those of us who have known for some time that a meadow can
enhance a garden not just aesthetically, but environmentally
too, have probably been having a love affair with the
wildflower meadow for some time now. Even the smallest
‘mini-meadow’ in a corner can increase the wildlife attracting
potential of the average garden considerably. Sadly, there
are garden designers and contractors who have little knowledge
of the dynamics of this habitat and the work involved in
keeping it flowering. Many a wildflower meadow has been
installed in a garden with little regard for the maintenance
involved or the work required in keeping it looking bright and
cheerful over the longest possible time. Through no fault of
their own, gardeners have found that over time the wildflowers
have disappeared and their once floriferous meadow has become
a sea of grass.
This
can happen to the best of us, as neglect and lack of essential
maintenance will both cause a decline in the number and
diversity of the wildflower species. If the meadow was made
in an area where the soil nutrient content was a little on the
high side at the start, this slow decline can happen even more
quickly, much to the dismay of the gardener who may have paid
a contractor to make the meadow in the first place.
So how
do we deal with a worsening situation, because there is no
doubt that the meadow will continue its downward trend if
nothing is done? The good news is that there are ways to
remedy this situation and October is an ideal month to tackle
the problem. New plants added to a meadow area now will have
a good chance of establishing over the autumn and winter
months.
The
first consideration is the maintenance issue, as the slow
disappearance of the flowery plants can be entirely due to
neglect! A wildflower meadow needs to be cut and vigorously
raked at least once every year – a few hours hard work, but
well worth the effort. If your meadow has not been regularly
cut and raked, this could explain why the grasses have ‘taken
over’. Remedy the situation by cutting this month with a
scythe or strimmer to a height about five to ten centimetres.
Allow the cuttings to lie for a few days as this gives any
insects in the grass a chance to find a new home, then with a
friend or two (this IS hard work), rake the cut grass up and
off the area. Even when all the cut hay is cleared, continue
to rake, removing moss and scratching up the surface to expose
bare soil here and there. This alone can be enough to
revitalise a meadow. Wildflower seeds stored in the seed bank
(in the top layer of soil) will be brought to the surface by
this action and their exposure to the air and light will
trigger their germination, either within the next week or two,
or next spring. This method of revitalising a tired meadow
has been known, if carried out annually over several years, to
bring about a radical change in the flower composition –
depending on which seeds are available in the soil. Many
gardeners have been surprised at what has turned up after this
treatment – even orchids have been known to appear!
However
for most of us neglectful gardeners this may only bring about
a flush of oxeye daisies next spring. Nice enough of course,
and a step in the right direction, but if you want to
encourage your meadow to overflow with flowers next year, you
made need to be a little more proactive. Adding new plants in
the form of plugs could be the answer.
Small
plug plants are now readily available by mail order, or you
could use slightly larger pot grown wildflower plants from
your local garden centre. Choosing plants suitable for your
soil type is important – often species die out because they
are not adapted to the local conditions. Check with a
wildflower gardening book to find out which are best suited to
your conditions or play safe with a small range of really
adaptable species such as knapweed, field scabious and cowslip
rather than more fussy species that may not last until next
spring. If you are successful with your introductions you
will soon get a feel for which wildflowers your local
conditions will happily support. Plug plants can be added to
the cut and raked area this month by using a bulb planter, or
taking out a core of soil with a small trowel. Be prepared to
water if the conditions are dry.
An
alternative to adding new small plants is to try spreading
extra seed. This is not always successful as it does depend
on the amount of bare soil you have exposed in your vigorous
raking. Seeds need to make physical contact with the soil in
order to start the germination process, and if your grass is
especially thick this method may not work for you. If however
the grass is thin and poor, this is worth a try. A mixture of
wildflower seeds or your choice of individual species can be
carefully sprinkled into the barer patches and then pressed
into the soil. Don’t forget that these small areas will need
some water in drier weather and that small seedlings are
vulnerable to all sorts of predators. You will need to keep a
careful eye on any tiny seedlings that appear in your sown
areas.
The
last maintenance task to try at this time of year is to add
the seed of yellow rattle. This annual member of the mint
family can only be sown directly onto existing grass. It is
partially parasitic on the roots of some native grasses and
cannot grow without its host plant. After cutting and raking
your meadow area (or any thin grassy area where more colour
and less grass growth would be appreciated) scatter the seed,
again targeting any patches of bare soil. The seeds of this
plant also require contact with the soil to begin the
germination process. October is the perfect month to sow
yellow rattle as it needs some cold frosty weather through the
winter months to trigger its germination.
All
this work may make you wonder whether a wildlife meadow is
really worth the effort of maintaining it! But don’t forget
that this is just one essential task at the end of your
meadow’s growing season. If this is the only attention you
pay to the area every year, it will still reward you with
flowers in profusion and wildlife of all sorts – a diversity
of insects, small mammals and birds - from January to
December. In particular the meadow butterflies that are
associated with a long grass area – the ringlet, meadow brown,
gatekeeper and maybe even the marbled white - will make all
that hard work seem really worthwhile. |
