MEADOW
MYTH
BUSTER Sandro Cafolla of Design by Nature dispels some myths and sets the record straight about the success of wildflower meadows in Ireland
A
s someone who has grown wildflower meadows for over 30 years, I have seen many successes and lots of failures. There is one certainty about establishing a meadow: if you know and understand your site and species they nearly always grow. If you take short cuts or deviate from the instructions you are effectively leaving potential success to chance. The further the divergence from what is required, the greater the difference in the results. Also, as no two sites are the same, why would any two bags be the same. A word of caution, British, EU and American wildflower advice is for soils, climate and species very different to Ireland. Worse still is advice from quazi-landscapers, writers, journalists and seed re-packers whose interests are not yours. Over the years I have read such guff about wildflowers that I would say 50% of all failure is due to misinformation and lies. The best advice comes from full-time wildflower growers or professionals with a proven track record over many different sites, and these days there are many. To help you make more informed decisions about what works and what doesn't with native wildflower meadows, I’ve compiled a list of commonly held myths. If you don't agree or have a different opinion, please contact me directly.
“50% of all failure is due to misinformation and lies” 44
IF YOU JUST CHUCK THE SEEDS OVER THE WALL THEY WILL GROW Wildflower meadows took hundreds of years to evolve, they need management and maintenance, they need some site preparation.
MIX SEED WITH SAND Sand is far heavier than seed and usually damp, meaning it sticks clumps of seed together. Instead learn to sow just seed or use dry crushed oats mixed in to help you identify where the seed is.
YOU CAN SOW INTO GRASS You can sow into an existing sward or you can 'plough up' a fresh growing sward and sow wildflowers. If you turn a grass sod over without 'killing it off' the grass will eventually recover and in doing so you enrich the soil and improve the grass so it out competes the flora. Ploughing and rotavating also often brings up a buried layer of weeds, especially dock which ruins a meadow. Deep Ploughing can work well. Also, you can’t you just scatter wildflower into grass, especially over commercial vigorous grass which is bred to out compete the weeds and sown at such high rates there Is no room for weeds to grow. One way around this is to stop feeding a sward for a few years, prior to sowing, 'scratch harrow' the surface. You can then establish a limited species meadow in Autumn. If you sow the semi-parasitic species such as Red Bartsia, Eyebright and Yellow Rattle whose roots
HORTICULTURECONNECTED / www.horticultureconnected.ie / Summer 2019
