:-\
Hope someone can help me, that's if I make any sense!
I have been trying to prepare my garden for a hot, dry (maybe with no hosepipe) summer and have been putting things into the ground which were in pots.
I have a flower bed to sort out which at the moment has a couple of Lavenders, a 7 year old Sedum, a 7 year old chrysanthemum thingy (not sure what it is but it flowers in the autumn!) a couple of Lambs Ears and a clump of Heuchera (Coral Bells).
The bed is about 12' long by 2' at one end and 4' at the other end.
What I want to know is can I put a load of Meadow mixture seed all over the place and will it be o.k with the established stuff?
I usually plant out various annuals but all need constant watering and apparently, meadow stuff doesn't?
To make matters more complicated, I am going away for 3 weeks in August and don't want to leave too much watering for my 'overworked' teenage sons who will have to look after the allotment for me!
Any advice will be lovely!!! ;D
I don't have a wild meadow myself but I have read that wild flowers only thrive on poor quality soils so I suspect they won't do too well in a garden border. Unless you are really set on wild flowers there are plenty of drought tolerant perennial plants that would survive in a sunny border, attract beneficial insects and compliment the plants you are already growing. You could try Mexican Hyssop, Buddleia, Echinops and Blue Fescue to name just a few.
G xx
I believe a wildflower meadow it pretty difficult to do, requires a totally different approach, and does need very poor soil to stop the grass overwhelming the flowers.
Thanks Robert and Georgie,
looks like I might have to get the books out and look some things up :-\
I do love the Meadow flowers but my border is rich and loamy so I suppose it wouldn't work.
Don't Buddleia grow into huge big bushy trees? I live at the top of chalk quarry pits and they grow wild everywhere but are very invasive and BIG ???
Donna
I've got a small sunny border and I grow a standard Buddleia which I prune back to about 6" every March. Works a treat. :D
G xx
;D ;D ;D
Right I will give that a go then, I know they don't need watering as they grow out of the chalk cliffs ..... couldn't get much drier than that!
thanx again xx
??? I can never understand why the "general" opinion is that "meadow" flowers will only grow in poor soils. Arable fields are generally highly fertilised and look at the good show of poppies we sometimes see if herbicides have not been used or have missed a strip. Meadows I used to work in were very fertile and had many flowers amongst the grass. I have seen some "nature trusts" remove top soil and try and grow meadow flowers... the result was dreadful. Poor flowers, bare soil and a mess.
I would say that if you do not currently have grass in your border (unlikely) which "could" compete, then go for it and give it a try. You never know what result you may get. Grow a mixture and some will surely grow.
OMHO... ::)
mat
Thanks for that Mat, I think I might just give it a go!!! ::) Do you reckon I should just broadcast the seed or grow clumps in pots to put in later? I am a bit worried I would be letting weeds grow instead of flowers!
Donna
Poppies will grow anywhere in newly disturbed soil, and their seeds last virtually forever. If a corn field isn't weedkillered, you get a field of poppies. The difficulty with wildflower meadows is stopping the grass, which likes rich soil, overwhelming everythig else; poor soil grows poor grass and gives other species a chance. But it's a difficult thing to do, and yes, there have been many failures. The proper recipe is to take a field and cut it for hay annually for 500 years.
machman,...this is what you should do or try,.. get your seed mixture or seeds for selected plants and sow the seeds in a standard size seed tray and grow them on as you would perrenials ,.when they are large enough ,plant them in one to two foot square beds where you want your meadow to be,..so in effect you are creating a number or macro meadows,..monitor the beds over a period of time, if you are successful and they survive they will produce seed and spread,.be patient it takes time but its worth a try.
I've just ordered a Pictorial Meadow mix from the Organic Gardening Catalog.
It hasn't got any grasses in it to compete with the wildflowers. You can get them in a range of height and colour mixes.
I thought that it would brighten up the bit of the plot that I'm not working on at the moment and detract from the black landscaping fabric!
Tabbycat
Thanks for all your answers folks!!
I am definately going to try to grow some meadowy things and will probably stick to the old faithfuls - cornflowers, poppies, love in a mist etc.....
Still not sure how to go about it yet ??? but I'm taking in everything you all say and letting it all brew. :D
Good luck, Machman. :) BTW, I have some Ox-eye Daisy seeds to spare if they are any use. PM me if you are interested.
G xx
Thanks for the offer Georgie but I did collect some seed from huge daisy like flowers in the grass verges on the school run last year. Not sure if they are Ox eyes? They were about 3' tall and ... well, like very big daisys really! About an inch to 2 inches across the flower head.
Thought I might sow them in seed trays - all mixed up and then so I don't have to disturb the roots, lay them out like turves in to the border.
:D
good luck machman,but go for those ox eye daisies seeds offered by georgie,to me that is what a meadow is all about man,..
Quote from: machman5 on April 24, 2006, 18:20:55
Thought I might sow them in seed trays - all mixed up and then so I don't have to disturb the roots, lay them out like turves in to the border.
:D
Well good luck with that idea but I reckon turning out a whole seed tray (or even a half one) won't be that easy. Wouldn't something like a cereal box work? You could plant the whole lot that way?
G xx
Oh yeah, never thought of that, cereal boxes might work though as long as they don't get too soggy before I need to move them. Suppose I could try laying the boxes on some bits of bean net to lift them with 'cos that can go down in the ground as well.
See this is why I love this site, gets your brain working with some like minded people!!
Something that is recommended for helping to weaken the grass is a native plant which parasitises grass and therefore weakens it to enable the wildflowers to establish better. It's called Rhinanthus minor (yellow rattle) and is available http://www.secretseeds.com/acatalog/Wildflowers.html (http://www.secretseeds.com/acatalog/Wildflowers.html) here.
Hi Deeds, sorry if I am being a bit dumb but you're the second person to mention grass probs. If I am mixing my own seeds together of select flowers, would grass still occur and how? I am only using a small flower bed which should be easy to maintain. apart from the densness (hopefully) of all the flowers - optimistic so 'n' so ain't I!!!!
Donna xx
By the way, I looked up Yellow Rattle and it's really pretty!
Flowers without grass should hopefully be a lot easier. most people try to grow the wildflowers with grass, and this is where most of the problems seem to arise.
Quote from: machman5 on April 24, 2006, 18:20:55
Thanks for the offer Georgie but I did collect some seed from huge daisy like flowers in the grass verges on the school run last year. Not sure if they are Ox eyes? They were about 3' tall and ... well, like very big daisys really! About an inch to 2 inches across the flower head.
Thought I might sow them in seed trays - all mixed up and then so I don't have to disturb the roots, lay them out like turves in to the border.
:D
machman the seed tray method you are about to try is the method that i and the enviroment group from a large chemical company had recomended to us by the local council conservation department when we wanted to try and turn a large piece of spare waste land into a flower meadow,...thousands of plants where grown from seed and then planted in small plots dotted abouut the site,...we had some success ? :) :)
Could I suggest that you Google "MAS Seeds". You will find a wealth of information on seeds for every type of soil, and I have used this company to provide mixtures for three areas that I want to make into wildflower meadow areas. They are very responsive to technical queries, and it is well worth spending time on their site.
JeremyB
Hi Jeremy
Thanks for that, yes I'll look them up.
Donna :D