Making a Meadow
How to simplify creating a wildlife and pollinator haven in your garden
Do you want to invite wildlife into your garden or have a low maintenance meadow filled with flowers? Read on…..
This spring, with Covid lockdowns, it seemed a perfect time to work on my “wild meadow” in my back garden. I wanted something more wild and natural, rather than the highly cultivated garden prairies. One of the best American examples of that is the Millenium Park in Chicago. Dutch designer Piet Oudolf planned a painterly patchwork of native perennials and grasses. As beautiful as these prairie gardens are, they are usually extremely labor intensive to get started and maintained.
I planned on more of a wild flower meadow like I saw at the edge of farmer’s fields in England. These strips of wildflowers and “flowering weeds” next to crops were put in place to stave off the severe loss of native wildflower meadows. In fact, England had lost 97% of its native meadows in under a century. Of course, as the meadows go, so do the habitats and sources of food and nectar for birds, animals and insects. To reverse this trend, policies were put in place such as leaving the sides of the roads unmowed so they would flower, as well as having farmers plant strips of wildflowers at the edges of their fields. Initially, farmers were opposed to this mandate for fear of rampant weeds in the crops, however, the huge increase in pollinators from the wildflower strips increased crop production in their fields!
I thought this “hands off” approach suited what I was looking to accomplish. I started last fall with roping off pathways in a section of my garden with the forged garden stakes. This area is bordered with a privet that will eventually grow into a hedge! I wanted a curvy path with a destination and some mystery..a little tricky in such a small area. I let the path end at an arbor I placed years ago where my lawn ended in a woodland walk that followed the back of my property. It is always shady and mysterious through the arbor, a nice enticement to walk through the meadow. I made two turns off the path, one to the right and one to the left, both through the hedge and both adding interest.
Finally, and most importantly, I planned the plantings. Many garden meadows have a plant called yellow rattle added to the wildflower mix. It inhibits the growth of the grass, allowing wildflowers to thrive. I did not do this as I was afraid it would get loose in my pathetic lawn and make it even more pitiful.
I have spent years extolling the virtues of having “weeds”, such as clover, ajuga and violets, in the grass to my husband..after all, my well trained rabbits and woodchucks happily chomp on the abundant clover and leave my delphiniums alone!!
Instead, I simply let the grass grow unchecked,( which for the record, smothered out the broad leaf weeds present in my grass!) and planted all kinds of naturalizing bulbs. Daffodils, snakeshead fritillary, bluebells, snow drops and camassia all scattered randomly and dug in with my Hori Hori, (the ultimate garden tool that I will have for sale soon!). I literally cut a plug of grass out, placed the bulb, and replaced the grass. This spring, as I found myself home more than usual, I was able to plant between the bulbs as they came up and flowered. ( I placed left over allium stalks to identify where I might be able to put in more bulbs this fall!) Of course, I used plants that could handle the thick grass, which kept the ground nice and damp. These plants came from 3 sources: my own “babies”, side of the road and from my favorite English cottage garden online source, GracefulGardens.com.
My “babies” are the verbena bonariensis, perennial geraniums, columbine, phlox, bugleweed, and bee balm that are seeded everywhere in my garden. I simply used a bulb planter to “dig up” the flower in a plug that was easily transplanted into a hole made the same the same way. If you want an abundance of babies, I found they germinate best if you shake seeds in a bed with a 2” layer of gravel over soil..you’ll have more than you know what to do with! I also get wildflowers from the side of the road; chicory and daisies will seed in the grass without taking over. Some of these roadside flowers are heavy seeders even in grass, (Queen Anne’s Lace) so observe them in native settings and be prepared to thin out if necessary. I put in a few Queen Anne’s Lace since I love the late August show!
Be careful of invasive species and those that are thugs, including many herbs. Mint, oregano and lemon balm look and smell beautiful, but will take over beyond your meadow borders!
Rescuing an evening primrose that seeded into my “grass” for the meadow.
I divided the lawn into garden rooms and planned for the meadow to have a path leading to an arbor. My friends are inspecting!
Roping off the meadow makes it easy to mow the paths through.
Wallace overseeing the perennial placement between the bulbs..the allium stalks mark spots for more bulbs in the fall!
Camassia, and daffodils begin to bloom!
My babies…. I let most flowers go to seed and shake on this area between my apple trees.
Edge of field wildflowers in England
COMING SOON…..
Organic, American grown and harvested seeds you can plant out this fall!
Finally, I bought a few end of season phlox and echinacea last fall from local nurseries, but most of my purchased plants come from GracefulGardens.com. I hesitate to give out this source for fear of my favorites selling out, but this nursery is a dream come true for cottage and meadow style plants!! While their small pot size makes them easy to plant in grass as well as in an established border, most bloom the first season! ( I am addicted to the foxglove and delphinium selections!). I will keep adding to the planting as well as sowing seed...my bee magnet echinops are on my list to harvest and direct sow their seed this fall. Recently, I added some solar lanterns, which draw you in for one last stroll and a solar fountain, which slows you down!
This Fall: I will allow the wildflowers and perennials to seed, leaving them through the winter to feed the birds. And while I don’t have sheep to eat down the summer’s growth like Prince Charles does at Highgrove, in very early spring,
I will mow the meadow to get it ready for the spring bulbs!
Forget-me-nots seeded in bee balm. The bee balm hides the unattractive seeded stalks in the summer.
More great tips to get your meadow going….
1. Buy end of season/sale perennials and seeds to put in your meadow. Many seeds germinate best in sun so I shake what I have (foxglove, verbenia bonariensis, forget-me-nots, primrose, even annuals) on the soil at the base of the perennials or in my “nursery.” Any perennials I use I will divide into smaller plants giving me more, easier to plant flowers!
2. As you do fall clean up and deadheading, lay what you trim on top of your meadow grass so seeds can drop..just be sure that light still gets through! Perennial geraniums ( geranium Rozanne), lobilia, pin cushion flowers (scabiosa), violas, echinacea, evening primrose (oenothera), gooseneck loosestrife (lysimachia clethroides), wood anenome (anenome nemorosa), blue mist flower (wild ageratum) are all great seeders that are kept under control by the grass in my meadow.
3. Taking pictures and keeping notes on wildlife, pollinators and what does well will help you improve your meadow each year. I found some flowers would not seed in grass, but did very well if I transplanted their seedlings such as catmint (nepata).
4. It is hard to make a mistake, just a grass meadow with mown paths is peaceful and beautiful, as is a single flower meadow! At the very least, time spent with a lawnmower will be decreased..my husband loves our meadow and has suggested we turn another garden room into a bulb meadow!
