My Meadow Journey
Katie Leak
Katie Leak
When we bought our house in The Coombe there was a patch of overgrown grass and brambles at the top of our chalky, full sun, hilly garden. We cut it back and dug out the weeds. I put on a weed and feed mixture but then we had hot weather and the grass scorched black! The next year primroses / field primroses popped up, so the following year we let the grass grow long and i threw down a meadow seed box but nothing came up! The next year we had the odd orchid but now, after a few years of letting nature take its own path, we have lots of orchids.
Through the year the patch starts with yellow primroses and common weeds like buttercups. Then the oxeye daisies bloom and we have a sea of white and the little man and common orchids start to appear. Then we move into hot summer and the yellow rattle and pyramid orchids are in bloom. Then the marjoram and field scabious come through to finish the season. The wild flowers attract lots of different butterflies in each stage of the season.
To maintain our patch we mow at the start of the year on a high setting to keep the grass down and we cut a low cut path through. Then in August, once the whole lot looks black and completely dried out, I mow it on a high setting with no bag on the mower (a lot easier than a heavy scythe!). I pick up the grass piles by hand and chuck them on the compost heap. In September, I mow on a low setting. I can recommend letting your grass grow long and throw down some yellow rattle seeds. It will save you mowing time, and you may get lovely butterflies and orchids.
Through the year the patch starts with yellow primroses and common weeds like buttercups. Then the oxeye daisies bloom and we have a sea of white and the little man and common orchids start to appear. Then we move into hot summer and the yellow rattle and pyramid orchids are in bloom. Then the marjoram and field scabious come through to finish the season. The wild flowers attract lots of different butterflies in each stage of the season.
To maintain our patch we mow at the start of the year on a high setting to keep the grass down and we cut a low cut path through. Then in August, once the whole lot looks black and completely dried out, I mow it on a high setting with no bag on the mower (a lot easier than a heavy scythe!). I pick up the grass piles by hand and chuck them on the compost heap. In September, I mow on a low setting. I can recommend letting your grass grow long and throw down some yellow rattle seeds. It will save you mowing time, and you may get lovely butterflies and orchids.
My Wildflower Experiment
Janick Fielding
The ground on which the seeds were sown was of very poor quality’. Furthermore, due to the poor spring I didn’t manage to sow until May, just before the long hot spell. I wasn’t sure if I’d left it too late or if anything would come up at all. All things considered, the wildflowers have done quite well. This winter I will turn the soil and add about three inches of topsoil. Things should do better next year. There have been plenty of insects, rabbits and a deer.