Make | Your Own Meadow

In the last 50 years, Britain has lost more than 98% of its wildflower meadows but we can all help bring meadows back by doing our own small part

Allowing grass to grow long and planting wildflowers, doesn’t have to mean owning a field or even giving over your garden to it. We’ve put together a few easy ways to make your own meadow, no matter how much time or space you have. 

Got a day, a reasonable patch of ground and some patience?

Make a From Scratch meadow

You’ll first need to clear the ground - pull up and grass and weeds lifting the top 5-10cm of soil, which will help with reducing the soil’s fertility (we know this sounds mad, but you have to think a bit backwards where meadow gardening is concerned). Next, fork the soil through, rake it and then pat it down flat. Finally, sprinkle your wildflower seeds and water thoroughly and regularly as it grows. 

Got a decent patch but no time or patience?

Buy a meadow mat

Pre-grown meadow turfs can be bought ready to roll out on your garden and you don’t need much of it to make a difference. Once you’ve bought your mat, lay it out where you want it and water regularly as it beds in. Meadow mats are best laid in spring or autumn. 

Keen bean with a bit of lawn to spare?

Make a Plug Plant meadow

You can buy wildflower plug plants online or from garden centres, which you then plant into an area of lawn that you’re happy to leave to go wild. The beauty of this method is that you can choose exactly what you plant in and ensure the plants suit the type of soil you have. 

Short on space but not enthusiasm?

Plant a Flowerpot meadow

Buy wildflower seeds or plug plants (or a mix of both) and pot up groups of flowerpots with them. You can then move them around your garden as you wish - you can even have a mini meadow if all you have is a balcony. 

Lacking gardening knowhow but have a garden?

Just go ‘No Mow’

If you’re not too bothered about swathes of wild poppies, just mow your lawn only once in spring and once in autumn. You’ll find all sorts comes through and you can help things on their way by throwing a few seed bombs and scattering wildfower seeds occasionally in any spaces you spot in the long grass. You’ll save hours’ of lawn mowing time and the birds and the bees will thank you for it.

If you’re inspired by the idea of meadow-making, you might like to read our ‘gallery’ pages in our June issue, which we’ve called, ‘Making Hay’. It’s a collection of beautiful photographs from the book Meadow: The Intimate Bond Between People, Place and Plants by Iain Parkinson with photography by Jim Holden (Kew Publishing/ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).

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More ways to embrace ‘wild’…

More from our June issue…

10 Wildflowers to spot in June

1. Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera 

A gorgeous little pink orchid that, as its name suggests, looks as though a bee has landed on its petals for a quick snack. Usually found on dry, grassy slopes with poor soil, they can also be spotted on roadsides and industrial estates. 

2. Red Campion, Silene dioica 

Keep a look out in shady woodland areas where bluebells have finished flowering, and on rural roadside verges to catch a glimpse of this pretty deep pink flower. Known as ‘Bachelor’s buttons’, it is thought it used to be worn as a buttonhole by unmarried men.

3. Sea Campion, Silene uniflora 

The perfect plant to track down on coastal walks, you’ll spot this white-flowered, waxy-leaved plant on cliffs, shingles and sand dunes from May to July.

4. Birds Foot Trefoil, Lotus corniculatus 

A member of the pea family, this low-growing plant has the best collection of common names, which include ‘Granny’s Toenails’, ‘Eggs and Bacon’ and ‘Hens and Chickens’. Whatever you call it, you’ll find it in grassy spots like lawns, verges and heathlands.

5. Cow Parsley, Anthriscus sylvestris 

These frothy white umbellifers are ubiquitous on country verges in summer. Also called wild chervil, this is an edible herb, but be careful when foraging for it as it looks much like many other umbellifers that are poisonous, like Fool’s Parsley and worse, Hemlock. Perhaps play it safe side and pick bunches of it to fill vases instead.

6. Ox-eye Daisy, Leucanthemum vulgar 

These large flowers used to be commonly found in traditional hay meadows, gently swaying in the breeze. You’re most likely to spot them now along the edges of fields that are managed as wild meadows, grasslands and on roadsides. Also called ‘Moonflowers’, they glow as night falls.

7. Wild Garlic, Allium ursine

Last chance saloon if you fancy a bit of foraging for your supper. Wild garlic makes a delicious pesto and is delectable in an omelette! Ancient woodlands are the best place to find it – look out for a cluster of white flowers atop a tall stem and strap-like leaves. Check for the garlic scent as the leaves can be mistaken for Lily of the valley, which is poisonous.  

8. Black Horehound, Ballota nigra

Growing in hedgerows, fields, along paths and in wasteland since the Iron age, this perennial herb grows up to a metre tall, so should be easy to spot. Clusters of flowers are loved by bees and sit atop sepals that fuse and form a tunnel.

9. Sainfoin, Onobrychis viciifolia

A beautiful pyramid-shaped perennial herb that looks a bit like a glammed-up lupin. Widely grown as a fodder crop until the 1800’s, you’re most likely to find it in a sunny spot on grassy banks or undisturbed chalk grassland. 

10. Goat’s-rue, Galega officinalis

A mini lavender-coloured sweet pea-type flower which you’re likely to see growing amongst shrubs in dappled shade on light, sandy soils, as their delicate frame benefits from the support. 

Words: Cinead McTernan

Turn to page 70 of June's The Simple Things for an extract from Meadowland by John Lewis-Stempel (Black Swan, £8.99), which won the 2015 Thwaites Wainwright Prize (see page 81 for the full shortlist). 

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Turn to page 74 for Tania Pascoe's picks of wild flower meadows to visit. Tania Pascoe is the author of Wild Garden Weekends.

Grow a wildflower meadow

Turn a bare patch, neglected corner, or even a container, into a glorious, wildflower meadow.

To capture the magic of a flower-filled field in miniature, all you need is a sunny spot and a handful of seeds.

You don't need acres... An untidy spot or an existing border in need of a makeover are both prime sites to grow meadow flowers. Turn to page 84 of July's The Simple Things for Cinead McTernan's feature on growing and buying annual, perennial, and mini meadows.

Read on for top meadow growing tips:

Don't shirk the weeding

Putting in the spadework at the start will ensure your plot is weed-free. Once weeded initially, let the soil settle for 3-4 weeks. Spray or hoe any new weeds, rake over - now you can sow.

Sow early

During March or April, but you can sow in September: on lighter soils, autumn-sown seeds generally establish quickly, but you may have to wait until next spring.

Scatter your seed

The simplest way to sow is to mix the seed with sand (so it's easily visible) and scatter evenly. For large areas, divide your plot into square metres and weigh out the right amount of seed for each.

Know your natives

Plantlife suggests buying seed from suppliers that source native plants (for examples see www.floralocale.org). Or contact your local Wildlife Trust as some now collect native seeds from their sites.

Cheat a little

Boost perennial meadows with plug plants or bulbs. Experts recommend yellow rattle - it's a parasitic plant, which weakens grass and so allows wildflower seeds to thrive. for an instant effect on roofs or smaller areas, buy meadow turf.

Not got July’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.