Wildlife gardening - wildflower meadows

It is the wildflower meadow for which many feel nostalgic. Cornfields coloured with annual flowers such as corncockle, corn marigold, field poppy and cornflower, or perennial meadows filled with ox-eye daisies, red clover, buttercups and grasses.

To create your own meadow you do not need a lot of space, but you will need time and persistence. It is ideal to convert what was a tightly mown area of lawn into meadow - this way you will automatically increase the wildlife value of that site dramatically. Whether you choose to plant seed or plants, you want to remove the turf. This can be done fairly severely, in that you don't want a highly fertile soil - too fertile, and grasses and perennial "weeds" will take over (in my experience, even with the turf removed I have still had to keep on top of weeding out unwanted grasses from my meadow patch). The other alternative is to start from scratch in a border or other new area of ground.

Decide on whether you want an annual meadow or a perennial one (f the two are mixed, the perennials will eventually be dominant). Species to choose include:

Perennial summer meadow

• Ox-eye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare
• Bird's foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus
• Red clover Trifolium pratense
• Black knapweed Centaurea nigra
• Field scabious Knautia arvensis
• Meadow cranesbill Geranium pratense

Perennial spring meadow

• Cowslip Primula veris
• Primrose Primula vulgaris
• Viper's bugloss Echium vulgaris

Annual summer meadow

• Corncockle Agrostemma githago
• Cornflower Centaurea cyanus
• Corn marigold Chrysanthemum segetum
• Field poppy Papaver rhoeas

Grasses

• Red fescue Festuca rubra
• Common bent Agrostis tenuis
• Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus
• Sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum

If you are planting seed, the best time to sow is in the autumn. Wildflower seeds can be tricky to germinate and an autumn planting means seed will be open to frost, which helps to stimulate germination. A spring alternative is to keep your seed in the fridge for several weeks before planting. If you want to use plants then these can be bought either as plants perfectly adequate for a small area or plugs for larger areas. In both seed and plant cases it is advisable to protect your meadow from rabbits, other small mammals and birds until it is established.

Cutting your meadow

A Spring flowering meadow should be cut in June/July and a summer meadow in August/September and again in March/April if you wish to. In both cases, leave the flowering heads to seed before clearing them up, and with a perennial summer meadow, leave seed heads until the following spring if you can.

Annual meadows need soil disturbance to stimulate germination, so once your flowers have set seed, turn the soil.

• Wildlife gardening
  • Butterfly borders
  • Pond and wetland areas
  • Woodland

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