Wildflower Garden, Meadow

Tobi2

Hi there
What are the alternatives to lawn gardens?
I would love a wildflower garden, ie loads of daffodils in Spring, Daisies etc in Summer, growing all over, meadowlike...
Does that make sense?

Does anyone know how we could go about this, meadowlike but not a field, if you know what I mean?

Thanks in advance
Tobi

Reyman

You can do this but it's hard work.

First thing is to never use fertilizer or weedkiller. Then gradually introduce native species of flowers by clearing parts of the grass and planting the wild flowers so they get a good start .

You then need to be very careful about your mowing i.e only at certain times so that you don't damage your wild flowers . There's plenty of books on this. Try reading up on it !

starman100

Have a look at this web site:

http://www.wildflowers.ie/

Thay sell wildflower seeds, plenty of different varieties, can work out quite expensive depending on the area but you could always mix in some ordinary grass seed. Your local garden centre may stock pre-mixed meadow seed with some wildflowers.

I would recommend putting in fresh topsoil, making sure to remove any weeds, then seeding with whatever mix you want. Now is not the time of year however, you'll have to wait until next spring, although September is the best time to seed a new lawn.

Like the previous poster said, only cut maybe twice a year when established.

Tobi2

Hi guys.
Thanks x 1million for that information, especially that website Starman.
EXACTLY what I wanted.
The area in question is quite wildflowery already, just needs a good sorting of weeds, which we had started last week.
And to hear of doing it in patches and hopefully planting what grows already (and reintroducing what used to be there when I was a kid, I remember loads of primroses and violets etc)...that's in my head anyway.

I will definitely be contacting wildflowers.ie
How did you come accross that site? Have you used them previously or googled them?

Thank you so much.
Tobi