Sowing My Wildflower Meadow

The thought of an Indian summer has been what many of us have been clinging to, I hate to be the barer of bad news but I think we can forget that idea.  Although on Saturday I was lucky enough to have blue skies and plenty of sunshine.  I made the most of it by sowing the wildflower seed I have had sitting in my kitchen for the past few weeks.

I treated the area (two strips each 5m x 1m) back in July with Roundup to kill off the grass and perennials weeds.  You can see the lovely brown patches I was left with.

The soil then got turned and left for a few weeks to see if anymore weed seeds germinated.  Those that did got another dose of Roundup or weeded out by hand.  What I was then left with was weed free soil which means the wildflowers can get off to the best possible start with minimal competition.  It’s a bit like DIY, all the time consuming work is in the preparation but if you don’t get that right you really do make life difficult for yourself.  So take your time and if necessary repeat this turning, leaving, weeding process a few times.

Out in the sun on Saturday I then raked the areas to a fine tilth, firmed it over (just walk backwards and forwards over the entire area) and raked it again to fill any divots….. ready for seeding!

The recommended rate for seeding this mix is 4 grams per square metre, which when you have it in your hand really isn’t very much.  I sowed a square meter at a time as I only had a small area to do and  I didn’t rake it in as the seed doesn’t appreciate being covered.  Then with rain clouds forming I let mother nature do the watering in.

I did put up string around the areas in the vain hope that this will stop a 5 year old and 3 year old charging over it…..we will see.

In the end I didn’t choose to sow an annual cornflower mix at the same time, I would prefer to get the grass management right in the first year without working around the added element of flowering annuals.

As far as the grass management goes, in the first year you cut the grass to about 5-7cm whenever it reaches about 15cm.  The number of times I will have to do this will depend on how fertile the soil is and what the weather conditions are like.  This process will help eliminate any annual weeds by not allowing them to flower and give the perennial wildflowers the time to establish strong root systems so they then flower well the following year.  So I’m afraid you’ll have to wait till 2014 for any lovely pictures of my wildflower meadow.  One thing you learn as a gardener is patience!