To give meadow-style flowers like Papaver rhoeas, Coreopsis tinctoria, nigella and lavatera, follow my steps to success…
Widespread low-growing turf grass Poa annua can soon take over
Inset: Alamy
with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert
Bob’s top tips for the week
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Call of the wild
Do your meadow-style flowers have to fight greedy grasses? Bob looks at how to give your ‘wild side’ a helping hand
All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited
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quite tough going, especially if the T’S downright hard work to get a meadow full of flowers, especially grasses are matted and deeply rooted. Whichever way, two or three years later, if making this from your lawn. The problem is that grasses, particularly the grasses will have choked out the established grasses, are too good at flowers again, and you need to repeat. competing so – other than the odd Well, there’s an easier method. Make a meandering path with concrete slab tree sapling, dock or bramble – they choke out everything g stones. Laid flat, these In real meadows, sheep e and can be mowed cattle remove lush grass er occasionally, so rough reducing the fertility, rasses are trimmed and allowing other plants to aplings removed. Then, have a chance. You can after six months or so, slice off the top layer to move the pathway a bit, expose the less fertile making another. Where subsoil and establish ach slab was sitting has Make sure flower plugs and your ‘wild’ flowers before come a patch of bare seedlings have the best the grasses return. This ca with grass roots coming chance before planting be successful, but is also the edges. A quick trim very hard work. of these, and you have a clean zone Another way is to remove small areas in which to get your ‘wild’ flower seed and to sow or plant your ‘wild’ flowers or seedlings established. there. This is less work, but can still be Then, after six months, move the path again, creating yet another series of cleared patches. Admittedly, each becomes choked out, but this takes a year or two, during which time the flowers have a chance and put on their display. By regularly moving the slabs, you will create a series of clearings to support your ‘wild’ flowers at different stages, and easily!
“Create a clean zone for seedlings to flourish”
14 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020
Alamy
Routinely moved, stepping stones help you create optimum conditions for flowers to be sown or planted
Inset: Alamy
Main image: MeadowInMyGarden.co.uk
If looking congested, mark clumps of snowdrops and other early bulbs, for lifting and dividing soon after the flowers finish.
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Bring tub-grown grapevines, peaches, apricots, blueberries, gooseberries and strawberries under cover, cool and bright, for forcing really early fruits.
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Put silica gel ‘drying agent’ pouches (from photographic / electrical stores) in with your seed packets to keep them drier.
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Hang fat balls and seed feeders amongst your rose bushes so any tits awaiting their turn will clean the aphid eggs off.
