Wealden wildflower meadow creation & management.

vi) 3 options for starting or restoring a wildflower meadow
OPTION 1 starting from bare soil,

OPTION 2 increasing the diversity of a FINE grassed area using wildflower plugs (small plants)

OPTION 3 Increasing the species diversity of an old meadow which has been neglected for years (and has lovely plants like orchids in it)

For this artiicle we will deal with OPTION 1- Starting from bare soil. Remove all troublesome weeds.

For large areas, it is best to test the soil fertility (You can send it off to a soil lab- we have the details..)If it is high (high N, P, &K..), reduce the soil fertility by scraping off the top 15-20 cms of soil to reveal the subsoil. (We have done this and can vouch for the efficacy of this method. Sorry if you can't face it, just plant a border instead…)!!) If you have a large area of low soil fertility (lucky you, you will not even need to strip the soil, but can celebrate this rarity over the winter months, at Xmas etc Cheers!!...)

vii) Deciding on the type of seed mixture. What type of seed mixture- this can be a basic seed mixture containing 4 grasses and 10 herbs. The selection of plant species in the mixture will depend on the type of soil, the main types of wildflower meadow soil habitats being (very broadly) a)neutral (pH 5-7.5) most clay/loam soils, or b)acid (low pH, ie. less than pH 5)lime- poor, or even c)alkaline(high pH), most thin soils on chalk or limestone. So, the nature of the soil, sandy or clayey, or loam PLUS the drainage, wet or dry is relevant to which wildflower species will thrive on your site. Seasonally damp (neutral) grassland is rare and valuable also. (Again space does not allow us to go into details here, we could write a book on this….so, will tackle seed mixtures in next newsletter)If you are really serious and have a large enough area of low fertility soil (before or after scraping), you could be lucky enough to qualify for authentic REAL old meadow seed mixtures. Contact us for details

viii) The best time to sow your seed mix is early autumn (Sept) or best in the Spring (April-early May) for soils which are prone to winter water logging.
For more details on wildflower seed mixtures, the actual plants (sorry no more room this time, that's all for now folks etc…) and advice on the management , another whole subject in itself, (including grazing regimes) of existing grassland…the next instalment will follow (if there is popular request)

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This article Landvision prepared for Merriments Gardens Club News letter.