desperation - weed alert

[campanula]

last autumn, I thought a wildflower meadow would be nice around my cherry tree so i duly dug, sifted, weeded etc and then planted lots of wildflower seeds with a generous annhual cornfield mix along with the grass. This spring, I am horrified to see what I actually have is a massive weedy seed bed - loads of chickweeds, poppies, groundsel, ground ivy, that awful purply low growing stuff and creeping buttercups, docks, mallow etc. Need i go on. What to do??? I am having horrid fantasies of a massive amount of weed seeds flying about my lottie including all over my new gravel garden next to this ahem, 'wildflower meadow'. Should I get the strimmer out now? Suggestions all welcome.

[Merlins Mum]

Goodness, if it's as bad as it sounds I think I would be inclined to dig the lot up.  If you can't face that then strim and put it down to experience.  It never turns out like that when they do it on the telly does it!

[kitty]

i'm with merlinsmum.....dig it up and start again -i read where its best to start of with a plain grass base and put in plug plants of wildflowers-this is the best site i've found for plugs....
www.scottswildflowers.co.uk
kitty

[Jesse]

I was reading the Country Living and there's a picture in there of a stunning flower meadow in an orchard. It's really inspired me to do the same on a small scale but my concern was all the weeds that would grow up around the wild flowers, a bit like what's happened to you C. Good idea Kitty about starting with a grass base, at least the weeds shouldn't take over too quickly that way. But how do you cut the grass without cutting the flowers, or can you buy a kind of grass that doesn't get too high? I'm imagining a 4ft high grassy patch with a few flowers lost inside!

[kitty]

i think you are supposed to only cut the grass  once a year-june i think-after the flowers have flowered.....i think its all meant to look artisically messy and rambling--tbh,i think the effect you are after is hard to acheive on a small scale-bloomin wet blanket aren't i?!sorry!

[Jesse]

You're probably right and I don't really have the space. It looks lovely though when done properly.

[campanula]

well, i have been down on hands and knees and it looks as though my febrile imagination has been working overtime.....the worst of the weeds are the red deadnettle and ground ivy (some people call it speedwell or glechoma). There are some really interesting things such as henbit, ox-eye daisy and scabious (I think) so it is having a stay of execution at the moment - it also looks quite stunning as the ground ivy is almost luminous blue. I know this may be madness but as long as there are no really vicious types (dock, bindweed....I know there will be as our whole site is a bindweed jungle....) I am going to persevere. At the very least, there will be loads of poppies which are easy to control.......hopes.
cheers for advice and suggestions - i agree, plugs are probably the way to go and i have done it before for someone else who wanted a flowery mead - one mow a year in July, their mead had but, in truth, it is not a low maintenance option as the grass needs hand cutting around the flowers... practically a scissor job. Ah well, we can dream....

[kitty]

well good for you bluebelle!
its amazing what you see when you get down in the mud aint it?
i hope it keeps getting better for you!
kitty

[kenkew]

Remove what you need to by hand. Cherry tree feeder roots are very shallow.