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| nature meadow |
The nature meadow we bought a few years back was a mess. It hadn’t been looked after for decades. Where I live, a nature meadow which hasn’t been touched by chemicals is very rare. Although it was covered with scrub, we investigated it further.
I think the first thing to do when you have a Wildflower Meadow seed is to find out what is there.
The procedure that naturalists often recommend is to mark a metre square, at any random place in the meadow, and then subdivide the square into centimetres. After doing this a number of times you get a really good understanding of what plants you have.
Generally, once you have a plant list, you can also walk the field to see if there are any unusual plants you want to protect.
At that stage, you know what you have, and it is largely a question of increasing it.
Before you start, think about the land you have as a set of habitats. If you want to increase wildflowers, well, you need to increase the number of habitats. It is well worth looking at nearby land as well.
Look for things that are reducing diversity. Normally, there are three main causes of reduced diversity. The first is overgrown grass. In a well fertilised field, grass will grow very robustly, and it will swamp weeds. There are some plants that are symbiotic with grass, such as Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor. Introducing this in parts of your wildflower meadow is a good idea.
Secondly, it is important to maintain a regular mowing schedule of twice a year. And, once you mow the grass, you must take it off the field. It is hard work. But it makes for a really good Wildflower Meadow seed.
The third thing you can do is remove scrub, bramble (blackberry) and any excess trees. People get very worried about the last. The truth is, nature thinks a wildflower meadow is a clearing, and has developed natural methods of filling it with trees.
These trees, if unchecked, will slowly swamp your land.
Doing these basic things will pretty much make sure you get a decent Wildflower Meadow seed.
The final step is to consider habitats more fully, and land improvement. Adding piles of rotting wood, making specific small glades of trees, and digging a small pond will all significantly increase the wildlife potential.
Feeding birds in the winter, by providing areas of wild flower seeds, is also important.
