12 minute read
WILD FLOWERS Chris Neave at
The Guide to Growing WILD FLOWERS
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If you’re looking to bring more nature into your garden, a wildflower meadow is a great way of doing so. Attracting an abundance of busy bees and butterflies, a meadow can ensure the rest of your garden is very well pollinated and buzzing with life. Chris Neave at Brightwater Gardens tells us a little more about the task of establishing one that looks impressive...
Wildflower meadows make for an enchanting feature to any garden, illustrating an almost ethereal fairytale; you almost expect to see ladies in long dresses singing as they wander amongst the tall stems and fairies hanging from petals. Not only are they picturesque, peaceful spots, wildflower meadows are wildlife havens, filled with bees and butterflies, whic is why it’s so important to have one of your own. With a beautiful wildflower meadow of his own, Chris Neave at Brightwater Gardens is quite the expert, mastering the natural look without it looking unruly or unintentional. “Establishing a wildflower area is something that can be done either from a small area of a few square metres, or a larger area of up to several hectares, so you don’t need football fields of land to create one,” says Chris. It’s also worth noting you don’t need to make an entire meadow - bees and butterflies love flower beds full of wild flowers too!
“Wildflower meadows are one of the more challenging aspects of gardening but are one of the most worthwhile and satisfying if you get it right.” “The key factors for establishing a long-term meadow area is patience and lots of it! Ours took around 10 years before it started to look really good. There is of course the annual meadow which you reseed each year and consists of annual wildflower seed.”
Where is the best place in the garden to grow a wildflower meadow?
“A sunny open site is always ideal, although wildflowers grow in a variety of locations in the wild. It’s best to have a soil that is low in nutrients, and lighter soils make it easier to cultivate. When selecting your area, make sure it has good drainage and it’s free of weeds.”
How do you prepare the ground?
“If the area is already an infertile area of lawn but weed free - perfect and rare - seed can be scattered directly onto the surface
and raked in with a spring rake. Alternatively, cultivate the ground really well during the spring and summer months and remove pernicious weeds like couch grass, nettles and docks.”
What time of year is best to sow wildflowers?
“The best meadows are sown in September as there is less competition from any pesky annual weeds and most wildflowers really need a period of cold to germinate which is a process called vernalisation.”
How do you choose the right seed mixes?
“Purchase a good quality seed from a reputable supplier. The internet is filled with information on wildflowers and we buy all our seed from Emorsgate Seeds.” “Choose seed to suit your soil and aspect; good seed suppliers have specific mixes for the type of soil and aspect you have at home. The alternative is the annual mix which ideally needs reseeding every spring. We use Pictorial Meadows for the annual mix. If you struggle with patience, it’s always good to add annuals so you have something of interest to look at until your meadow comes into its full fruition!” “Wildflower meadow mixes contain slower growing finer grass mixes as well as wildflower seed.”
What do you advise when it comes to actually sowing our seeds?
“Cultivate the ground thoroughly by digging with a spade or fork, rotovate larger areas, then rake thoroughly and create a firm but not too compact seedbed.” “Then before sowing, it’s advisable to mix the seed with dry sand to bulk the quantity up for seeding by hand. The seed mixture should be sown in two opposite directions to get good coverage. Do not use too much seed as this is both wasteful and not effective.
If you have a larger area, it’s wise to sow the seeds with a lawn seeding hopper.”
Is there a lot of maintenance involved?
“In the first spring, your meadow area will look quite bare, but don’t be tempted to scatter more seed and do not add any fertiliser.” “When the grass gets about 75mm in height, mow it lightly and keep it short through the rest of the summer and autumn. Ensure that arisings are removed and composted. Don’t mow annual mixes.” “Remove any pernicious weeds like docks and thistles by hand weeding. Mowing should remove nettles.” “In the Autumn, sow some yellow rattle seed across the area at about 0.5 - 1g per metre. This is a wildflower that is a parasite of grass and reduces its vigour, allowing wildflowers to flourish with less competition.” “When it gets to year two of your wildflower meadown, the exciting bit begins!”
Types of Wildflower
There are around 1,600 species of wildflower in Britain and Ireland. We’ve listed some of our favourites here.
Autumn Hawkbits are dandelion-like golden flowers that appear from rosettes of leaves from June to October. Small clustered purple flowers and scalloped leaves of Betony are ideal for growing in damp, sunny or lightly shaded sites.
Burnet Saxifrage are small, delicate plants found in well-drained, grassy places. The vivid red colouring of poppies also make for a wonderful addition to a vibrant wildflower meadow.
“Continue to weed out pernicious weeds by hand. Allow the grasses and the wildflowers to grow through the spring and summer, and hopefully the very first pioneer wildflowers will start to emerge (most likely oxeye daisy, sorrel, knapweed, campion, burnet etc). You will have to wait quite a while longer for other flowers.” “In early Autumn or when the majority of flowers have senesced, cut the meadow and lead it off and either compost, or make it into hay. This is especially important as it reduces the fertility of the soil.” “Each year, with your continued patience and diligence, the meadow will get better and more exciting and you’ll start to see a bigger variety of wildflowers such as cowslips.” “After about eight years of our wildflower garden growing, we started to see our first common spotted and pyramid orchids appearing. Like I’ve said, this gardening project takes patience!”
What wildlife can you expect to attract?
“Wildflower meadows are incredibly important for wildlife providing food for many insects, particularly and most importantly bees and butterflies” “In time, the abundance of insects now enjoying your wildflower garden attracts more interesting bird species to your garden too.” “Our bee and butterfly populations have definitely increased massively over the past 15 years. A friend who knows a lot more on the subject of bees counted over 15 types in under 10 minutes! We frequently see common blue, small tortoiseshell, red admiral, meadow brown and brimstone butterflies. They add to the beauty of a wildflower garden.” So if you are considering growing wildflowers in your own green space, keep in mind that patience is a virtue! Despite the years of growth, maintenance is relatively minimal so it’s a manageable addition to a busy garden.”
Find Out More: Chris Neave’s beautiful wildflower meadow is a feature of his eight acre patch of land. It’s filled with formal gardens, lawns, meandering walks, paths wildflower meadow and woodland. There is interest all year round, and it opens for the National Gardens Scheme too. To visit, please call 01673 878820 or visit the website www.brightwatergardens.co.uk.
Estate BIRDS
If you have a large estate or perhaps you’re just interested in keeping beautiful birds, then you might be interested in learning a little more about the likes of peacocks, swans and guinea fowl. They’re all fascinated creatures that we enjoy gazing upon but what are they actually like?
ALLBIRDSAREBEAUTIFULbut we seem to put native British birds into categories. For example, there are the sweet little garden birds chirping away throughout the day, the birds we’re not so fond of like blackbirds, seagulls and pigeons, and there are the more regal birds you’ll find strutting around an estate or farm proudly.
One of the most colourful birds of the latter category that everyone recognises is the peacock. The male’s tail feathers are covered in striking vibrant eyespots which he shows off to attract females or peahens. He will displays his tailfeathers and quiver them which creates a low frequency sound that humans cannot hear but attracts other peacocks. All baby peacocks are born identical no matter the sex. It isn’t until the males are around two years old that peacocks will start to grow their first tail, taking three years to grow a full train. While we no longer take part in the eating of peacocks today, in medieval times it was not only eaten but its body was reconstructed as a centrepiece for the table! Most of us will have seen the beautiful bird parading around parks, but they’re actually one of the largest flying birds in the world (yes they fly!). Most choose short bursts of flying rather than long distances which is probably why not many of us can say we have seen this rare act of flight.
If you have a pond or lake nearby, you might prefer a mute swan or two. For centuries, mute swans were known as ‘Birds Royal’ as only the King or a few favoured subjects could keep them. Even today, unmarked mute swans across the country are technically owned by the Queen.
You can always pick out a mute swan by its red-orange bill with a black bit of skin at the base. With their long-curved neck and graceful presence, they are a regular sight on our waterways, feeding on waterweed.
Mute swans start out in life covered in grey fluff, which turns into brown feathers. After two years, their pure white feathers start to appear becoming the bird we recognise. Swans can live up to 50 years but most live no more than seven in the wild.
There are six other species of swan in the world, but the mute swan is the only one you
Right: The beautiful, bright Mandarin duck. Above: Quail are lovely little things! Top: The mallard, the most recognisable duck. Main: A graceful swan, gliding along the surface of the water of a lake.
will see in Britain all year round. They choose to not travel far from their homes. Something that is particularly charming about mute swans is that they typically mate for life! Guinea fowl are also spotted waddling around estates. They’re a funny little bird, perfectly capable of flying but choose not to. They prefer to walk everywhere, sometimes walking up to six miles a day!
They’re quite striking in their appearance; they have a bony structure on top of their red, blue and white head. Some have a wattle; that flap of loose skin that dangles beneath their jaw. Guinea fowl are very social birds but are also fiercely territorial and protective of their young. They’re actually quite ‘chatty’ too with a number of different calls and sounds.
Pride HQ was home to several and although their screechy sounds were once quite the annoyance mid-article, they’re now sorely missed while we all work from home!
During the breeding season the male and female guinea fowl will call to each other at the same time. It’s almost like they’re singing a duet together! Their chicks are called keets. Guinea fowl are also guilty of doing ‘egg dumping’ which means they lay their eggs in other guinea fowl nests so they don’t have to have the boring job of incubation!
Quail are another little bird you might find hopping about an estate. They’re probably most well known for their beautiful bright blue eggs. They can lay anywhere from 10 to 20 eggs at one time. Unlike guinea fowl and peacocks, they don’t choose to only fly a short distance; they physically can’t fly long distances. They usually live alone but they can form into flocks in autum.
Also unlike most bird species, their chicks are ready to run straight out the shell! When they hatch, chicks are already well developed and are able to leave their nest and follow their parents straight away. Ducks are also a fabulous addition with their familiar bread-pleading ‘quack.’ You can get diving ducks and dabbling ducks; the former dives deep underwater to get their food and are therefore a little heavier, and the latter feed on the surface of the water and sound like a great band.
All ducks have highly waterproof feathers. A duck’s feathers are so waterproof that even when the duck dives underwater, the downy underlayer of feathers right next to the skin will stay completely dry.
Ducklings are adorably cute, and when they’re less than 10 days old, they huddle together and do not leave their mother’s side. The most common across the globe is the mallard and that’s the most recognised, although there are many beautiful duck varieties in this country.
One of our favourites is the brightly coloured Mandarin duck, a breed that was introduced to England from China. Oddly for a duck, it nests in trees high above water.
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