Wildflower meadows
It’s widely known that access to nature has a positive impact on our mental health and overall wellbeing. But how can this be achieved in towns & cities?
“How does the meadow flower its bloom unfold? Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom bold” William Wordsworth
The answer perhaps lies in creating wildflower meadows. And the good news is that you don’t need sprawling acres, because a little mini-meadow pocket in the garden can look truly stunning. And it won’t just benefit the human residents – it helps the wider environment and eco-system too.
Wildflowers are so quintessentially English. All the classic poets have written about them, and Shakespeare mentions over 100 native wildflowers in his works. We’re talking cowslips, sorrels, daisies, ramsons and campions. So many of these breeds conjure up memories of days gone by (and folklore is full of references to them) – so why not recapture that sense of nostalgia by planting a patch in the garden?
A traditional English country scene is surely that of fields filled with colourful wildflowers, but sadly our meadows have been in decline for decades. It’s not just the flowers themselves disappearing though; these spaces are rich in wildlife such as butterflies and bees – and they depend on them for their survival. As bees move from flower to flower in search of nectar, they leave behind grains of pollen, allowing plants to grow and produce food. Pollinators like our bees play a key role in one out of every three bites of food we eat. Without them, many plants we rely on for food would die off.
How to make your own wildflower meadow
You don’t need a lottery win and vast estate to make your own wildflower meadow. We recommend selecting an area of the garden in an open, sunny location. Perhaps take a patch of lawn, because maintenance for your mini-meadow is considerably easier than mowing the lawn! The ideal environment would be nutrient-poor soil (preventing weeds or grasses from taking over). Before planting your choice of flowers, stop using fertilizers & weedkillers and keep the grass very short.
Make a small hole for each plant, add a little compost, water well, then allow it all to settle.
If you’re a bit time-poor then there is also a cheeky cheat available – various online suppliers sell wildflower turf in rolls which you lay exactly like standard turf, and usually contains 50% grasses & 50% native wildflowers. Instant pops of colour for your garden from spring til the start of autumn.
Our choice of wildflowers
With so many to choose from, how do you select the best blend of flowers? Our suggestion is to aim for the most eclectic and varied look. Combine pink, purple, blue, red, yellow and white flowers with the greenery of grasses. Try cowslip for yellows, ragged robin for pinks, sorrel for spikes of red and daisies for white.