Meadow Creation and Technical Advice

Introduction

Often, it can be daunting to create or restore a wildflower meadow but with the following advice, it should make your wildflower journey as smooth as possible. There are two scenarios in which you might be looking to sow wildflower seed mixes: wildflower meadow creation and regeneration. Simply put, creation is starting a meadow from scratch, whereas regeneration is reverting a grassland habitat to a wildflower meadow.

In both of these scenarios the establishment of a wildflower meadow can take some time and to achieve a fully established, flourishing wildflower meadow can take up to 5 years or more. It is key to remember that variations in establishment and success are dependent on a variety of factors from site and environmental conditions to management practices. The following advice provides key information on sowing and ground preparation, meadow maintenance, aftercare, and seed storage.

Seed Storage

Once you have purchased your seed mix we highly recommend storing it in optimum conditions to maintain seed viability where possible. The optimum temperature for seed storage is 2-4 degrees Celsius, and it is crucial that whilst seed is in storage it is frequently aerated. If you have a large cold store available to you then having the seed in a polythene bag will suffice, whereas, if you have a small amount of seed it will be fine in a standard fridge, but make sure you open the bag and aerate it every so often. Seed will maintain viability for some time without storage, so if you are buying seed close to your sowing date then you can avoid storage. However, if you are buying your seed in early summer then try to find a cool, dry place to store it if you do not have a cold store option.

Ground Preparation

Ground preparation is an integral part of wildflower meadow creation and regeneration. If the ground is not prepared correctly then it can lead to a dominance of weeds, but when prepared correctly it lays the foundations for successful meadow establishment. When selecting your site, it is best to choose an area that is low in fertility as this benefits the wildflowers. Low fertility ground is best as it significantly reduces the competitive ability of weeds and grasses. If you have no other choice than a high fertility site then you can carry out regular cuts before preparing the ground, making sure to remove any cuttings. For larger sites, plant a crop of mustard, barley, or potatoes to help lower fertility by removing nutrients.

Ground preparation methods and tools can vary depending on site size, conditions and available resources. It is commonly recommended to use chemical sprays in the ground preparation stage, though we would advocate taking your time and doing it manually to be as nature friendly as possible and avoid any chemical residue build up.

Meadow Creation

When creating a meadow from scratch the chances are that you might already have bare ground, or a site that has gone into fallow. Make sure you clear the site of any weeds and then scarify the ground to produce a fine tilth that has few to no clumps. Once you have done this, after a few weeks you might notice some more weeds coming up. This is because the seed bed underneath the soil has been disturbed and weed seeds that have lain dormant have the opportunity to germinate. If this happens you can manually remove them if your site is small or scarify the area again to displace the weeds. It is crucial to remove as many weeds as possible at this stage so you may have to repeat this process a few times.

Meadow Regeneration

Meadow regeneration can often prove tricky when trying to establish a wildflower meadow. This is because many grasses and weeds are well-established already; sometimes a combination of wildflower plugs, and seed can achieve the best results for this type of project. Site selection is key for meadow regeneration; make sure to select a low fertility site that has very few typical weeds such as docks, nettles and thistles. The first step in preparing your site should be around August. Either cut or graze the grass as low as possible, then scarify the site with the aim of exposing 50-60% bare soil.

In both scenarios, once you are happy with your weed free, tilled soil, make sure not to add any inputs such as fertiliser, compost or topsoil. Doing so will only increase soil fertility and lessen the chances of producing a successful and diverse wildflower meadow.

Tools

In each of these scenarios, every person will have different tools available to them. Scarification can be done on a small scale with rakes, hoes and even spades. Whilst on larger sites spring harrows, disc harrows and chain harrows can be used.

Sowing

There are two possible times at which you can sow your seed: autumn and spring. Generally, we recommend an autumn sow as it is best for the yellow rattle and there is less competition from weeds and grasses in autumn. We recommend sowing your seed at 2-3g/m2 . The timing of sowing is important, for an autumn sow it is best to sow around September/October and for a spring sow late March is the best. Sowing too late in autumn can be bad as it can often become too wet and many seedlings can struggle in periods of frost; equally if you sow in spring, try to sow when some rain is coming as overly dry conditions are not favourable either. Whatever time you choose to sow, keep in mind that seeds require warm, moist soil to have the best chances for germination.

There are a few methods for sowing with the easiest being broadcasting. When broadcasting, it is advisable to split up your seed into portions, then use each portion for a relative area of your site; mixing the seed with sand will help to carry the seed and show you where you have already sown. Other methods that can be used for larger sites are using a spreader or using a drill that allows the seeds to nestle on the soil surface; using conventional agricultural drills will plant the seeds too deep and prevent germination.

Once you have sown your seed, roll (on a large site) or tread (on a small site) the soil surface to bring the seed into contact with the soil whilst creating a firm and level soil bed.

Maintenance

Consistent maintenance and management plays a vital role in the overall establishment and success of a wildflower meadow. The grazing and/or cutting of your meadow will determine the meadow structure, diversity and richness.

If you sow in autumn onto existing grassland then there is an option to cut the meadow in spring if the grasses are quite long; this will allow light to filter through to the germinating seedlings. Usually, there is no need to carry out a cut in the first-year spring, regardless of when you sow your seed. Typically, you should undertake two cuts a year, one in late summer (July- August) and one in early spring (late March but not April). After the summer cut, the site can be grazed/mowed over winter to keep the grasses down. Once you have cut your meadow in summer, you can leave the material on the site for a few days to dry and release any remaining seed. After a few days you must remove the material from the site as leaving it there will improve soil fertility and shade out any developing seedlings. After the spring cut you should remove all material as soon as possible. Generally, you can cut to about 15cm as most perennials die back anyway before they grow again the following year.

The timing of your cuts can achieve different results, if you are using the cut material to make hay then a later cut will provide more fibrous material but less nutrients than an early cut. Early cuts can be useful for removing weeds before they set their seed but are not so good for ground nesting birds and insects. Also, wildflower species will come into seed at different times so some early cuts will prevent some species from seeding. If you are cutting early, you must avoid cutting your meadow before the yellow rattle has seeded. Cutting in the last few weeks of July is the most beneficial for nature on average.

During meadow management, it is good practice to manually remove docks and thistles before they seed. It is worth remembering that the change of the seasons, and the flowering and seeding schedule of plants, can vary from region to region. With the pressures of climate change and unpredictable weather patterns, it is best to visit your meadow for a site walk and observe first-hand what stage your flowers are in.

Some of our mixes such as the Pond Edge, Hedgerow and Shade and Calcareous Grassland mixes do not require this type of management. These need to be weeded every once in a while to keep them balanced.

Tools

On a large site, tractors with a mower attachments or similar machinery can be useful; whilst on smaller sites, scythes and strimmer’s are perfectly adequate.

Aftercare and Expectations

Once you have sown your meadow it is vital that you continue to carry out consistent, observant and timely management practices that have been highlighted above. Lapses in management can lead to undesirable outcomes and create meadows that are dominated by grasses and weeds. In subsequent years, you can sow more yellow rattle as well as species that have been struggling to establish.

In terms of establishment, any perennial mixes will generally be slow. With an autumn sow you might see some pre-winter germination and a small amount of flowering over summer, but both of these are highly unlikely. It is not until the first summer cut that you will see many of the germinated seedlings. After your second spring you will witness your first full flowering.

With a spring sowing you are unlikely to see any flowering in the summer but will see a lot of germination and ground cover over the spring. It is not until the following summer that you will see your first flowering.

To begin with you tend to see the species that establish quickly first but after a few years your meadow will balance out and the slow-growing species will start to appear. Keep in mind that perennial wildflower meadows take time to grow, develop and establish – do not be disheartened if you do not get instant results in the first few years. After all it is a natural process, and nature often takes years to produce noticeable change.

With any annual mixes you should see flowering in the first year.

Yellow Rattle

We are frequently asked questions about Yellow Rattle and its role in a meadow. Yellow Rattle is an annual plant that helps in establishing a wildflower meadow. It is a semi-parasitic wildflower species and feeds on grasses which paves the way for other wildflower species to fill in the space where the grasses once were.

Yellow Rattle seed requires an over-winter chill to germinate. This is why we recommend any mix that contains yellow rattle to be sown in autumn, so that the seeds can germinate in the spring.