It is really important to say that wildflower meadows thrive in poorer soil. A rich soil will enable nettles, dock, thistles, and particularly grasses to out-compete the wildflowers....and clay is a rich soil. I certainly wouldn't have added compost. If you have a rich fertile soil you could benefit from adding a lot of sharp sand. Also, your regime at the end of the growing season is important too.......cutting the hay and leaving it in place to drop its seeds in July/ August, then keeping the growth down to ankle height for the rest of the year. A big tip is to plant a lot of yellow rattle. It is an innocuous almost unseen little plant, but it is semi-parasitic on grass, thus keeping grass down to a manageable level. Grass is one of your biggest enemies with a lawn like this. Also, clovers can be brilliant in a meadow like this, again, suppressing grass, but also flowering beautifully if left to grow undisturbed by a lawnmower. One of the most fun aspects of a wildflower meadow is to see the changes from year to year, depending on conditions. No two years are the same. I didn't plant any red campion in mine, but it has arrived this year. So has a tiny orchid, which we're watching closely and will try to identify when it gets a bit bigger.
nice advice, cut late season and keep cut short. I tried this a few years ago..weeds and grass consumed the wildflowers seeds ....at least the ones that were left after scores of birds feasted on them. Place straw over to hide the seeds I think. Glad this one worked so well. Really nice. Oh and I let this plant with Lovely tiny pink orchids grow in the fall...it turned into something with velcro seeds IMPOSSIBLE to remove from clothes they are in such abundance, stick after just a touch...had to use a KNIFE to run over jeans and get them off, not just a few but MATs of triangular seeds....sets of three "lanceolate" leaves...if that's what you got, Kill it before it ruins your life .
clay soils _can_ be rich in nutrients, but even if so, they're locked up, right? The goal of adding compost is getting organic matter into the soil more than nutrients (hence compost vs. fertilizer/manure) to improve drainage/aeration; another approach (or complementary) would be adding gypsum to flocculate the clay soil...yet another approach (slower) would be sheet mulching and/or penetrating crops (daikon) and letting the worms do the digging...but that requires a lot of patience...
I just commented a similar thing so I completely agree. It's usually best to mix in some sand so that they won't be outcompeted since they can adapt to less nutrients whereas most weeds can't. =)
@@neonice It isn't the weeds which are your problem. In some senses, it's the weeds you are trying to encourage!! No, your big problem in wildflower lawns are grasses, which can smother everything, and the big perennials such as nettles, docks and thistles.
This is far simpler than many assume, and it looks so much better than either a lawn or that bloody astroturf stuff that is devoid of nature. Thank you for sharing, and I hope you continue to enjoy it for many years to come.
I agree that everyone should plant more areas like this, the main drawback for many is that, while you have two to three months of glory, you have to 'endure' months before and months after where it looks like your garden is just full of weeds. Personally I find waiting for the bloomin' daffodil leaves to die off, much more off-putting.
@@michaeljames5936 Yea ive just left the grass grow in my lawn this year,will cut in October and sow a few seeds in between the grass next year.If i dug out all the grass it would look pretty bad for 80% of the year as you say.Anyway doesnt a real meadow still have mostly grass in it?
@@Gos1234567 Yeah, I think so. Looking at seed mixes, 'Flower Meadow Mixture' is about 75% grasses. Probably the type of grasses are important too, but I know nothing about them. Any native species would probably be good.
I love how wild flower and grass mixes change every year, last year we had mainly shorter stemmed flowers like Poppies of all colours, this year we have a sea of sky blue Chicory over 6'0'' tall! Can't wait to see what comes next spring.
Ours changed so much from last year too 😍 I hope the poppies come through next year, that would be so beautiful!! Wow the drift of blue must be so calming 💙💙💙
This is so beautiful! As I child I used to sit in a meadow on some vacant land next to my house and I would marvel at the beauty of all the flowers, I couldn’t believe how many there were and that they were just there, like little treasures. Enjoy your treasures!
Lovely end result, and I love to see people proposing wilding up a garden! However, I fear for the longevity. Tip for people looking to emulate this, wildflower meadows prefer poor nutrient soil - clay is nutritionally dense so does not need compost added to it. Sharp sand for drainage makes sense, maybe fine top soil to help seeds germinate etc, but not more organic matter.
Hi Oliver 👋 sorry for the slow reply! Thanks for your kind words and advice! I hope things will be nice this year too, I had also sowed a perennial mix that is kicking in this year so we’ll see 🤞 I also sowed more annuals this Spring, video here if you’re interested th-cam.com/video/0uljYFKTF_c/w-d-xo.html. The clay tends to dry really hard and crummy so my hope was to give the seeds the best chance at germinating. I didn’t add more organic matter on year 2 (this year) 😊 xx
@@floduffett1640 In isolation, yes. However the two combined will make a cement-like substance unless sand is added in very large quantities (as high as 1:1). Organic matter is a far better amendment for clay soils. I live in an area with clay soil and adding a sand thinking it will help with drainage is a very common mistake people make.
Amazing transformation. I'm planning to do this soon in an area of my yard where HOA can't see :) I got really into birding during the pandemic. From there, my interest grew in native insect pollinators and finding ways to create plant/flower corridors throughout my yard for them to buzz about.
Thanks Jeffrey 🥰 I hope your meadow is coming along well if you have already started? It is fascinating when you stop and watch to see all the biodiversity in our gardens! Hope you will enjoy your wildlife heaven 🙌😘
I love this! Having just owned my first lawn in the last 2 years I willl say they’re the most stupid ideas to persist in modern times (the idea came from French aristocrats who used lawns to demonstrate their extreme wealth by showing how they could waste resources on something frivolous) . Lawns require a heap of maintenance, water & cost - esp if you want them to look good. It’s a waste of your time! My native gardens require about 50 times less time & cost to maintain than my lawn! Yes folks - go wildflowers, ground covers, pavers, driftwood, nice rock work! 👌🏻Look how nice these wildflowers are! You will also have a mcih more unique and original lawn than everyone else. My next house will have no lawn!
I’ve recently read about kurapia as an alternative to grass, I’d love to try it instead of a lawn!!! It apparently requires less water than a traditional lawn, attracts pollinators and is children and pet friendly 😍🐝💚🦋 Love that your encouraging wildlife in your space ❤️
what a pile of rubbish....you obviously have no knowledge how to manage a lawn properly......By knowing your soil type, climate, aspect and light, and prepare the soil correctly for a lawn and planting the correct grass, not only will you get 12 months of enjoyment from a lawn as opposed to mud in the dormant season, 3-4 months waiting for 2 to 3 weeks of blooms only to have the seeds blow into all other parts of the garden.......many 'meadow plants' are listed as invasive or noxious weeds......yes a meadow garden can look 'pretty' for a month, but don't criminalize a lawn just because you have no idea how to build one or manage one.......done correctly a lawn is less work and requires less water, fertilizers and chemicals that the average garden.
You can cut the heads of some of the flowers and make teas from these that are so nutritional and taking of the head of the plants encourages more to grow x
You’ve inspired me to make my own! Thank you for keeping a record of the process I didn’t know it could be so easy(I say that now) yours turned out stunning I hope mine can be as great as yours
The micro meadow attracts bees and 241,000 humans. Impressive, and beautiful :) I am getting ready to plant a mixed fragrant variety, so thankyou for fueling my visions!
A lot of those species are corn field annuals (sometimes called arable weeds) rather than meadow plants. They rely on the soil being ploughed/tilled once a year to be self sustaining. The soil also needs to be very low in nutrient for them not to be out competed by more vigorous plants without constant weeding. The marketing of 'wildflower meadow' seed mixes is always very misleading. A meadow is mostly grass and either grazed or mowed and if done right allows wild flowers to flourish within it.
Thanks for the info! Can you suggest what varieties to plant for low nutrient soil that don't require tilling each year? I wonder if she's going to till her entire yard each year. I'd be curious to see what her yard looks like now that it's been almost a year.🤷♀️
I was fortunate in that my meadow was already in place. My land has a strip out front under the power lines and all I had to do was convince my county and power company that I would keep it free of trees. This allowed the wildflowers and grasses to flourish. Now I enjoy native plants and hundreds, if not thousands, of pollinators. I erected a 10x10 (I’m in USA) area designated as a Monarch Waystation with native plants and a few lavenders. It has since been expanded and requires almost no maintenance. Native is always best!!
What an inspiration! This is my year too for my wildflower meadow patch. I am planting it beside my garden and have chosen a Bee Mix and Butterfly mix. So excited for gardening! 💐 Thank you.
I brought a packet of wildflower seeds from b&q there's only 3 grams of seed in the box, nevertheless I planted them yesterday, I really do hope its not too late to see them pop up and flower Thanks for the tutorial, your meadow looks absolutely beautiful
I'm in the process of doing almost the same thing in my community garden. I have heavy clay too that was full of nettles and docks, so about 2 months ago I removed the top 10cms then covered it with cardboard, in one month's time I plan to cover it all with 10cms of subsoil and sow some wildflower seeds. If I get results like this I'll be over the moon
I hope you do, that’s a lovely project to do for your community ❤️🤞 if that’s not working well you can always try to sow a green manure to outcompete the weeds, cut back before it sets seed and then sow again the wildflowers the following year! Let me know how it turns out!! 😘
This is so beautiful! I thought I was having a good amount of bee flowers in my garden, but I see now there's room for improvement. I love what you did with your garden. Wonderful.
WOW!! How beautiful!! Super inspiring!! I'm stoked!! This is very doable for me also!! Gonna get cracking in Jan 2023 so my space will be ready by my Jun birthday!! Yaaay!! God bless you for sharing!! Keep enjoying your bit of heaven!!
ahhhh beautiful! It just goes to show that this is so easy to achieve. I love a natural cottage like garden with wildflowers. You have such a pretty little garden. x
A few years ago covered a half acre in wood chips and have been adding in perennials little by little. As the chips are breaking down, some native flower seeds must have blown in or dropped in as this year started to get goldenrods and fleabane, native to my area. Of course have to keep watch for stuff you don’t want also coming in.
Wonderful! My front yard is about 1000 sq ft of grass. I'm planing to start getting rid of the grass and replace it with a meadow! Hope mine looks as good as yours!!
I’m doing this in my yard right now. Front and back I am trying to do a wildflower meadow along the perimeter then on the open areas doing some clover and dichondra. Yours looks awesome 🎉
Very nice, and inspiring. Have had a couple of packets of wild flower mixes for a while and just haven’t decided where to put them. However, last spring I literally just sprinkled the contents of a packet of what was supposed to be Roman chamomile outside my kitchen window and by July half the yard was covered in beautiful flowers. Lowest maintenance ever and the bees loved it. Was pretty tall for Roman chamomile though, so think it was actually another variety.
I’ve been looking for something just like this. Especially not having to dig up and remove the grass. This is better I think. Just kill the grass, add compost, and spread wildflowers! Love it.
Early this year we bought a petrol tiller, we have an acre plot and planned on doing a wildflower meadow. The tiller failed after 10 minutes, so, we sent it in for repair. It came back ( took ages ) so we set to work again. Tiller lasted less than 10 seconds. Back it went, eventually we received a message from manufacturer telling shop to refund our money as it was beyond repair. This wasted all Spring/Summer and it was too late to sow for flowers this year. We have a new electric tiller now, roll on spring so we can get started. I'm watching videos like yours to keep my motorvation up, beautiful results you had ❤❤
I asked myself that question and I think it is a following of our farmers roots. What they did - and do - was and is cutting grass and try to avoid other plants in their meadows. You can see that in 'modern' agriculture, where they filter out every seed which is not the seed they want to bring on their land. Cornfield with no flowers and grass fields where you only see one kind of grass and nothing else. Exactly how 'modern' garden lawns look like ... But, video's like this and many other signs like them, show that something in the world is turning another way
We will be getting a new septic system in the huge front yard and I have been planning and collecting seed to blend and toss out all over. I have lots of plans and hope it works out.
I did this to my backyard in Louisiana. All native. I have a whole area dedicated to bee balm and swamp milkweed. I see so many bees butterflies and hummingbirds.
We enjoyed it so much and the bees too 🐝 !! Hoping for a strong come back next year (otherwise I got it covered: harvested lots of seeds when preparing it for Winter ☺️☺️☺️). Do you grow wildflowers too?
Thank you so much for this inspiring video! Just tilled my pocket meadow space in Oklahoma City. Can’t wait to sow my garden in mid April! My first attempt so wish me luck!
Its 27th Feb and ive just received some seeds to plant, Ive got clay soil which as been turfed over, my plan is to dig out the clay and put in some top soil and sharp sand, any advice would be welcome
Thanks 🥰 Yes I did because the winds flatten a lot of the growth and the flowers were done 😊 Video here if you’re interested th-cam.com/video/50PqoUufgfE/w-d-xo.html 😘😘
its amazing! well done. i want to try it. how important is the tarpaulin stage? i think the grassy area we have in mind is too big for a tarp...Can you just dig up the lawn?
Hi Neil, Sorry for the delayed reply! I don’t have experience in dealing with a large area, but there is a lot of information on the RHS website (www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/wildflower-meadow-establishment) regarding converting a lawn to a meadow for large areas. Alexandra over at the middle sized garden YT channel published a very comprehensive video recently on the topic: th-cam.com/video/akVORa8BPG0/w-d-xo.html In a nutshell, there are several approaches you can take, but it could take several years and several sowings to build up the seek bank: - Dig out the top soil if you have a lot of perennials weeds and then wait for these to germinate for a few weeks, hoe them off and only then sow your meadow. (I used a tarp to weed-kill for that because I had a small area) - so yes I guess you could do that :) but it may be a lot of work if you have to resow/deweed for several years - You can also sow plants like mustard or yellow rattle to make the grass less vigorous in the first year to help other flower establish - And add plug plants (already grown on) to help them establish Hope that helps!! Good luck to establish your meadow!! 🌱💚
Hi folks. I'm not religious but I decided to create my own Easter story this weekend so after Good Friday, doing my back in raking and raking the lawn and digging up weeds and heavy tuft grass, I moved the lawn down to a skinhead style haircut. Then I sprinkled loads of wildflowers seeds onto the lawn and raked them in. It rained lots in the following 24 hours so then I spread compost tonight onto the lawn quite thick compared to how I see folks compost lawns, when they only want to grow grass lawn and not like this, flowers. If anyone else followed this lady's example, I am curious to hear whether you had successful outcome after only sprinkling compost very thinly or quite thickly say 25mm thick? I gave my lawn one final rake over after feeding it layer of compost.
Looks nice. I didn't see any clovers in the mix, or the other typical pioneer plants, such as dandelions. AFAIK, they are important for many wildflower ecosystems as clovers are nitrogen fixers and thus maintain a low to medium level of nutrients. If you go over board with nutrients you are likely growing tall weeds that harm the meadow. In general, if you want to keep plants short without mowing, then it's usually because tall plants can't grow there anyway (shallow, hard soil, or swamp-like). If you have in the mix a range of plants for different moisture and sunshine levels, the mix will be very robust and adapt to your local conditions. You'll typically notice a shift across the area depending on sun exposure and potentially moisture (as some spots gather water and dry up last). For instance, there are various variants of sage and thyme. The prior exists in the Mediterranean version and a soft-leafed version in temperate climates. Thus, you might plant both, and only the driest, and sunniest places have the Mediterranean version growing in a few years, whereas the rest of the meadow is sprinkled with the more cold and moist tolerant soft-leafed version. Thyme has variants that can grow on minimal soil (basically on rocks). The darkest spots in the garden may be covered with plants such as winter aconite. I can't think at the moment of a plant that survives in various levels of moisture (besides cultivated and wild rice), but they definitely exist. EDIT: I believe mint is one example.
We did have some clover pop up this year (year 2 of the mini meadow) so that’s good!! Also a few new perennials like yarrow and buttercup!! It definitely changed from last year, it so exciting to see it grow!! 😊 We don’t have such a dry climate here so I doubt I’ll get thyme but that would be awesome!! Thank you for sharing all this info 🙏💚😘😘
It is really important to say that wildflower meadows thrive in poorer soil. A rich soil will enable nettles, dock, thistles, and particularly grasses to out-compete the wildflowers....and clay is a rich soil. I certainly wouldn't have added compost. If you have a rich fertile soil you could benefit from adding a lot of sharp sand. Also, your regime at the end of the growing season is important too.......cutting the hay and leaving it in place to drop its seeds in July/ August, then keeping the growth down to ankle height for the rest of the year.
A big tip is to plant a lot of yellow rattle. It is an innocuous almost unseen little plant, but it is semi-parasitic on grass, thus keeping grass down to a manageable level. Grass is one of your biggest enemies with a lawn like this. Also, clovers can be brilliant in a meadow like this, again, suppressing grass, but also flowering beautifully if left to grow undisturbed by a lawnmower.
One of the most fun aspects of a wildflower meadow is to see the changes from year to year, depending on conditions. No two years are the same. I didn't plant any red campion in mine, but it has arrived this year. So has a tiny orchid, which we're watching closely and will try to identify when it gets a bit bigger.
nice advice, cut late season and keep cut short. I tried this a few years ago..weeds and grass consumed the wildflowers seeds ....at least the ones that were left after scores of birds feasted on them. Place straw over to hide the seeds I think. Glad this one worked so well. Really nice.
Oh and I let this plant with Lovely tiny pink orchids grow in the fall...it turned into something with velcro seeds IMPOSSIBLE to remove from clothes they are in such abundance, stick after just a touch...had to use a KNIFE to run over jeans and get them off, not just a few but MATs of triangular seeds....sets of three "lanceolate" leaves...if that's what you got, Kill it before it ruins your life .
clay soils _can_ be rich in nutrients, but even if so, they're locked up, right? The goal of adding compost is getting organic matter into the soil more than nutrients (hence compost vs. fertilizer/manure) to improve drainage/aeration; another approach (or complementary) would be adding gypsum to flocculate the clay soil...yet another approach (slower) would be sheet mulching and/or penetrating crops (daikon) and letting the worms do the digging...but that requires a lot of patience...
@@johnnyhartshorn Compost is hugely rich in nutrients. If you want to just improve drainage, then add sand and small stones.
I just commented a similar thing so I completely agree. It's usually best to mix in some sand so that they won't be outcompeted since they can adapt to less nutrients whereas most weeds can't. =)
@@neonice It isn't the weeds which are your problem. In some senses, it's the weeds you are trying to encourage!! No, your big problem in wildflower lawns are grasses, which can smother everything, and the big perennials such as nettles, docks and thistles.
Wow that would bring a tear to my eye seeing how well it grew after 2 week holiday. This is beautiful
Haha it did 😁❤️ I dashed immediately in the garden when we came back, half dreading everything would have fried, but the weather behaved for once 😊
That's exactly what I thought as well (: I felt excited for Johanna as though it were my own garden!
A gift from God!! Love this so much...🌻💚
Finally a video where they show seeds from start to finish with dates! Thank you!!! I'm going to try this!
Loved to see that you chose UK natives. It's so important to plant natives to your area. Thank you for doing that!
💛🦋🐝
This is far simpler than many assume, and it looks so much better than either a lawn or that bloody astroturf stuff that is devoid of nature. Thank you for sharing, and I hope you continue to enjoy it for many years to come.
What's the maintenence like?
I agree that everyone should plant more areas like this, the main drawback for many is that, while you have two to three months of glory, you have to 'endure' months before and months after where it looks like your garden is just full of weeds. Personally I find waiting for the bloomin' daffodil leaves to die off, much more off-putting.
@@michaeljames5936 Yea ive just left the grass grow in my lawn this year,will cut in October and sow a few seeds in between the grass next year.If i dug out all the grass it would look pretty bad for 80% of the year as you say.Anyway doesnt a real meadow still have mostly grass in it?
@@Gos1234567 Yeah, I think so. Looking at seed mixes, 'Flower Meadow Mixture' is about 75% grasses. Probably the type of grasses are important too, but I know nothing about them. Any native species would probably be good.
I love how wild flower and grass mixes change every year, last year we had mainly shorter stemmed flowers like Poppies of all colours, this year we have a sea of sky blue Chicory over 6'0'' tall! Can't wait to see what comes next spring.
Ours changed so much from last year too 😍 I hope the poppies come through next year, that would be so beautiful!! Wow the drift of blue must be so calming 💙💙💙
Do you reseed every year?
This is so beautiful! As I child I used to sit in a meadow on some vacant land next to my house and I would marvel at the beauty of all the flowers, I couldn’t believe how many there were and that they were just there, like little treasures. Enjoy your treasures!
I bet the bees and humming birds love this.
❤️
Beautiful! I love flowers. Looks great your meadow! I wish more people look after bees by growing flower meadows. Bees are our life. ❤
Thank you Irma 🙏❤️ So true! 🐝
This is the best wildflower meadow I’ve seen! Absolutely stunning :)
Thank you so much Mary 🙌🥰
Lovely end result, and I love to see people proposing wilding up a garden! However, I fear for the longevity. Tip for people looking to emulate this, wildflower meadows prefer poor nutrient soil - clay is nutritionally dense so does not need compost added to it. Sharp sand for drainage makes sense, maybe fine top soil to help seeds germinate etc, but not more organic matter.
Do NOT add sand to clay soil! It creates a cement-like mixture.
@@tardis358 sand helps with drainage. Clay waterlogs
Hi Oliver 👋 sorry for the slow reply! Thanks for your kind words and advice! I hope things will be nice this year too, I had also sowed a perennial mix that is kicking in this year so we’ll see 🤞 I also sowed more annuals this Spring, video here if you’re interested th-cam.com/video/0uljYFKTF_c/w-d-xo.html. The clay tends to dry really hard and crummy so my hope was to give the seeds the best chance at germinating. I didn’t add more organic matter on year 2 (this year) 😊 xx
Fear for the longevity ? How so? Indigenous wild flowers take care if themselves and keep blooming beautifully every year.
@@floduffett1640 In isolation, yes. However the two combined will make a cement-like substance unless sand is added in very large quantities (as high as 1:1). Organic matter is a far better amendment for clay soils. I live in an area with clay soil and adding a sand thinking it will help with drainage is a very common mistake people make.
Well done to you .Your hard work has come true i am so happy for you and your meadow garden i will do the same now thanks to you uk
Amazing transformation. I'm planning to do this soon in an area of my yard where HOA can't see :) I got really into birding during the pandemic. From there, my interest grew in native insect pollinators and finding ways to create plant/flower corridors throughout my yard for them to buzz about.
Thanks Jeffrey 🥰 I hope your meadow is coming along well if you have already started? It is fascinating when you stop and watch to see all the biodiversity in our gardens! Hope you will enjoy your wildlife heaven 🙌😘
Zinnias are a great nectar flower where they can see, especially dwarf varieties/mixes.
I love this!
Having just owned my first lawn in the last 2 years I willl say they’re the most stupid ideas to persist in modern times (the idea came from French aristocrats who used lawns to demonstrate their extreme wealth by showing how they could waste resources on something frivolous)
.
Lawns require a heap of maintenance, water & cost - esp if you want them to look good. It’s a waste of your time!
My native gardens require about 50 times less time & cost to maintain than my lawn!
Yes folks - go wildflowers, ground covers, pavers, driftwood, nice rock work! 👌🏻Look how nice these wildflowers are!
You will also have a mcih more unique and original lawn than everyone else.
My next house will have no lawn!
By this thinking you might as well let your entire garden return to nature. Meadow Lawns are just a fashion right now.
I’ve recently read about kurapia as an alternative to grass, I’d love to try it instead of a lawn!!! It apparently requires less water than a traditional lawn, attracts pollinators and is children and pet friendly 😍🐝💚🦋 Love that your encouraging wildlife in your space ❤️
what a pile of rubbish....you obviously have no knowledge how to manage a lawn properly......By knowing your soil type, climate, aspect and light, and prepare the soil correctly for a lawn and planting the correct grass, not only will you get 12 months of enjoyment from a lawn as opposed to mud in the dormant season, 3-4 months waiting for 2 to 3 weeks of blooms only to have the seeds blow into all other parts of the garden.......many 'meadow plants' are listed as invasive or noxious weeds......yes a meadow garden can look 'pretty' for a month, but don't criminalize a lawn just because you have no idea how to build one or manage one.......done correctly a lawn is less work and requires less water, fertilizers and chemicals that the average garden.
@B W exactly! 👍🏻👌🏻
Life’s too short for grass!
My neighbours would complain as it’s not decking and trampolines 🤬
You can cut the heads of some of the flowers and make teas from these that are so nutritional and taking of the head of the plants encourages more to grow x
You’ve inspired me to make my own! Thank you for keeping a record of the process I didn’t know it could be so easy(I say that now) yours turned out stunning I hope mine can be as great as yours
The micro meadow attracts bees and 241,000 humans. Impressive, and beautiful :) I am getting ready to plant a mixed fragrant variety, so thankyou for fueling my visions!
Congratulations !
When you love plants and gardening, those little simple things can make you happy.
Thank you so much ❤️ So true!!
Thank you so much ❤️ So true!!
A lot of those species are corn field annuals (sometimes called arable weeds) rather than meadow plants. They rely on the soil being ploughed/tilled once a year to be self sustaining. The soil also needs to be very low in nutrient for them not to be out competed by more vigorous plants without constant weeding. The marketing of 'wildflower meadow' seed mixes is always very misleading. A meadow is mostly grass and either grazed or mowed and if done right allows wild flowers to flourish within it.
Thanks for the info! Can you suggest what varieties to plant for low nutrient soil that don't require tilling each year?
I wonder if she's going to till her entire yard each year. I'd be curious to see what her yard looks like now that it's been almost a year.🤷♀️
I was fortunate in that my meadow was already in place. My land has a strip out front under the power lines and all I had to do was convince my county and power company that I would keep it free of trees. This allowed the wildflowers and grasses to flourish. Now I enjoy native plants and hundreds, if not thousands, of pollinators. I erected a 10x10 (I’m in USA) area designated as a Monarch Waystation with native plants and a few lavenders. It has since been expanded and requires almost no maintenance. Native is always best!!
What an inspiration! This is my year too for my wildflower meadow patch. I am planting it beside my garden and have chosen a Bee Mix and Butterfly mix. So excited for gardening! 💐 Thank you.
Thank you Bronwyn 🥰❤️ So glad to hear you’re growing a meadow too!! Hope you have lots of happy pollinators 😘😘
Super cute meadow. Wildflower heaven. Love your ideas.
We have just planted our Second Area of Herbs and Wildflowers, we Love It!
I brought a packet of wildflower seeds from b&q there's only 3 grams of seed in the box, nevertheless I planted them yesterday, I really do hope its not too late to see them pop up and flower
Thanks for the tutorial, your meadow looks absolutely beautiful
2:37 I'm sure everybody watching smiled at this! Amazing! What a nice view for you to get back to. 😍
I'm in the process of doing almost the same thing in my community garden. I have heavy clay too that was full of nettles and docks, so about 2 months ago I removed the top 10cms then covered it with cardboard, in one month's time I plan to cover it all with 10cms of subsoil and sow some wildflower seeds. If I get results like this I'll be over the moon
I hope you do, that’s a lovely project to do for your community ❤️🤞 if that’s not working well you can always try to sow a green manure to outcompete the weeds, cut back before it sets seed and then sow again the wildflowers the following year! Let me know how it turns out!! 😘
This is so beautiful!
I thought I was having a good amount of bee flowers in my garden, but I see now there's room for improvement. I love what you did with your garden. Wonderful.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience with us.
WOW!! How beautiful!! Super inspiring!! I'm stoked!! This is very doable for me also!! Gonna get cracking in Jan 2023 so my space will be ready by my Jun birthday!! Yaaay!! God bless you for sharing!! Keep enjoying your bit of heaven!!
Awww thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️ Oh I’m so glad to hear that you’re going to give it a try!!! Hope you love the results 🙌😘🥰
ahhhh beautiful! It just goes to show that this is so easy to achieve. I love a natural cottage like garden with wildflowers. You have such a pretty little garden. x
Thank you so much Rachel ❤️
A few years ago covered a half acre in wood chips and have been adding in perennials little by little. As the chips are breaking down, some native flower seeds must have blown in or dropped in as this year started to get goldenrods and fleabane, native to my area. Of course have to keep watch for stuff you don’t want also coming in.
this is sooo beautiful ! Wild meadow flowers is the best!
💚💚💚
So beautiful. This is something I would love to have if I owned my home.
Wonderful! My front yard is about 1000 sq ft of grass. I'm planing to start getting rid of the grass and replace it with a meadow! Hope mine looks as good as yours!!
I love this! I'm going to do it in my front garden. 💖
Thank you ❤️ Do tag me on social media, I would love to see how it turns out!! Happy growing 🌱🌼
I smiled from ear to ear watching this video
Brilliant. Thanks for the help, I need it as I’m just about to sow my wildflower seeds.
Peace and Love
I’m doing this in my yard right now. Front and back I am trying to do a wildflower meadow along the perimeter then on the open areas doing some clover and dichondra. Yours looks awesome 🎉
This is great, I have a few seed packets & plan to do this in my front yard.
That’s brilliant 💚!! Hope you will love it as much as pollinators will ☺️😍
Well it’s settled. I need a wildflower meadow now. 🌱🌷🌼🌻🌸🌺
It looks so beautiful 🌻🌼
Wonderful! Thank you for making the world a beautiful place.
Very nice, and inspiring. Have had a couple of packets of wild flower mixes for a while and just haven’t decided where to put them. However, last spring I literally just sprinkled the contents of a packet of what was supposed to be Roman chamomile outside my kitchen window and by July half the yard was covered in beautiful flowers. Lowest maintenance ever and the bees loved it. Was pretty tall for Roman chamomile though, so think it was actually another variety.
We did this with our front lawn one year and it was amazing. Brought me so much happiness
Greetings from Missouri. Absolutely gorgeous transformation! Love incorporating wild flowers into our backyard oasis too ♡🌻
Thanks ❤️🥰 Oh that’s lovely to hear 🐝
I’ve been looking for something just like this. Especially not having to dig up and remove the grass. This is better I think. Just kill the grass, add compost, and spread wildflowers! Love it.
Early this year we bought a petrol tiller, we have an acre plot and planned on doing a wildflower meadow.
The tiller failed after 10 minutes, so, we sent it in for repair. It came back ( took ages ) so we set to work again. Tiller lasted less than 10 seconds. Back it went, eventually we received a message from manufacturer telling shop to refund our money as it was beyond repair.
This wasted all Spring/Summer and it was too late to sow for flowers this year.
We have a new electric tiller now, roll on spring so we can get started. I'm watching videos like yours to keep my motorvation up, beautiful results you had ❤❤
That sounds like an awesome project, I hope everything works out for you guys next year 🙌🙌✨😘
I love wild flowers. What a great idea! So beautiful.
Thanks Linda 🙏🥰
So beautiful! I'm about to create something simular! Can't wait. Thank you so much for your inspiration ❤
Thank you so much!! Oh that’s amazing, hope your project goes well 🥰🥰😘
So so beautiful, touched my soul.
Thank you for sharing x
That's a very nice meadow garden
Love the colours
Absolutely breathtaking Johanna!
thanks for the encoragement. i have the same sort of drought stricken yard.
I recommend the Sun Joe electric tiller to break up clay or caliche, followed by a few bags if cotton burr compost to aerate the soil.
Hey, thanks for the advice. :) gonna try this, hopefully it’s not too late to grow some seedlings in the east coast.
I have never understood why anyone wants a lawn. This is so much better!
I asked myself that question and I think it is a following of our farmers roots. What they did - and do - was and is cutting grass and try to avoid other plants in their meadows. You can see that in 'modern' agriculture, where they filter out every seed which is not the seed they want to bring on their land. Cornfield with no flowers and grass fields where you only see one kind of grass and nothing else.
Exactly how 'modern' garden lawns look like ... But, video's like this and many other signs like them, show that something in the world is turning another way
😍 Glad you think so too!!
So beautiful, I wish to see this every day❤
We will be getting a new septic system in the huge front yard and I have been planning and collecting seed to blend and toss out all over. I have lots of plans and hope it works out.
See, this just shows that a good quality of life isn’t about money but about intelligence and heart
Thanks for the info. Looking to do a similar patch this spring and very excited about it!!
Oh that’s brilliant 🥰🙏!!
a slice of heaven at home 😍
🥰
If you do this, I recommend finding some varieties that naturally occur where you live. 😉
WOW!! So super absolutely LOVELY
Thank you so much 🥰
Wow , just wow 🥰 i love the mix of different flowers 💐 absolutely stunning!
thank you so much ❤️🥰
I did this to my backyard in Louisiana. All native. I have a whole area dedicated to bee balm and swamp milkweed. I see so many bees butterflies and hummingbirds.
Oh that’s wonderful!! 💚💚💚 We don’t have hummingbirds here but I hope I will see one someday!!
You made such a beautiful meadow. I love to try it on my own yard this year!
Thank you 😊🥰 that’s awesome, the bees will love it ❤️❤️
Thank you for sharing your experience.
The wildflower meadow looks so beautiful 👍
We enjoyed it so much and the bees too 🐝 !! Hoping for a strong come back next year (otherwise I got it covered: harvested lots of seeds when preparing it for Winter ☺️☺️☺️). Do you grow wildflowers too?
Lovely. We need to do anything possible to enhance a healthy environment for the polinators-especially bees! Thanks!
I planted a wildflower meadow, its amazing see the transformation. How do you maintain it? Does it self seed the area?
You're tip toeing through your own little meadow! Ahhhhhh!!!😆💕
Thank you so much for this inspiring video!
Just tilled my pocket meadow space in Oklahoma City. Can’t wait to sow my garden in mid April! My first attempt so wish me luck!
Good luck !!! 😘
Truly beautiful! 🌼 🌸 🌻
I dreamed, you made it. Congratulations 👍
Very inspiring. Thanks 🎉
So beautiful. Wildflowers are the best!
Thank you Diana 🙌❤️! Couldn’t agree more 🥰
Wow it’s beautiful! I love it and so much bees 🐝🐝🐝🐝 great polinators…I’m going to plant more flowers 💐 💐🌸🌺 in my garden …thank you for sharing dear!😁😁
Thank you Sonya 🥰 More flowers sounds good 😁🥰!!
The 🐝 and 🦋 thanks you! 😊
That turned out really great. I’m going to try this. The tarp was a great idea
Nice. The pollinators love it. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks 🥰🐝🦋💚!!
I love meadow gardens!
Its 27th Feb and ive just received some seeds to plant, Ive got clay soil which as been turfed over, my plan is to dig out the clay and put in some top soil and sharp sand, any advice would be welcome
What a beauty! This was my dream too. Now I know what to do!
Thank you Maria ❤️ hope you get to have your wildflower meadow soon 😘
Fantastic job, thanku for uploading ☘️
Looks lovely. Maybe you can add a few kitties. I’m curious how you maintain it. Do you need to trim them to the ground in the winter?
Thanks 🥰 Yes I did because the winds flatten a lot of the growth and the flowers were done 😊 Video here if you’re interested th-cam.com/video/50PqoUufgfE/w-d-xo.html 😘😘
I plan to copy this in New Zealand. Thank you
Absolutely beautiful! This is my dream meadow! So thick and lush. I’m working on mine now. You did an awesome job.
Thank you so much, I'm so excited to hear that you're starting one too !! I wish you many blooms and happy pollinators 🫶🌱🐝 xx
Super cool and inspiring
That is absolutely beautiful 🤩💐thanks for posting
Fantastic. Thanks for sharing
God bless you. I love your garden
Came out so beautiful!!!!🐞🐝🌻
Thank you so much ❤️!!
its amazing! well done. i want to try it. how important is the tarpaulin stage? i think the grassy area we have in mind is too big for a tarp...Can you just dig up the lawn?
Hi Neil,
Sorry for the delayed reply!
I don’t have experience in dealing with a large area, but there is a lot of information on the RHS website (www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/wildflower-meadow-establishment) regarding converting a lawn to a meadow for large areas.
Alexandra over at the middle sized garden YT channel published a very comprehensive video recently on the topic: th-cam.com/video/akVORa8BPG0/w-d-xo.html
In a nutshell, there are several approaches you can take, but it could take several years and several sowings to build up the seek bank:
- Dig out the top soil if you have a lot of perennials weeds and then wait for these to germinate for a few weeks, hoe them off and only then sow your meadow. (I used a tarp to weed-kill for that because I had a small area) - so yes I guess you could do that :) but it may be a lot of work if you have to resow/deweed for several years
- You can also sow plants like mustard or yellow rattle to make the grass less vigorous in the first year to help other flower establish
- And add plug plants (already grown on) to help them establish
Hope that helps!! Good luck to establish your meadow!! 🌱💚
Use cardboard to kill grass and compost.
i'll save this for my backyard
What a fantastic job
Plastic on soil sort of suffocates it/ the living organisms in it. Use cardboard [if you feel the need]. Ps a wild meadow has 'weeds' too.
VERY beautiful ... Wonderful...
God bless u..
incredible transformation! this is beautiful!! 💚🌻
Thank you Marina 💚💚💚
Hi folks. I'm not religious but I decided to create my own Easter story this weekend so after Good Friday, doing my back in raking and raking the lawn and digging up weeds and heavy tuft grass, I moved the lawn down to a skinhead style haircut. Then I sprinkled loads of wildflowers seeds onto the lawn and raked them in. It rained lots in the following 24 hours so then I spread compost tonight onto the lawn quite thick compared to how I see folks compost lawns, when they only want to grow grass lawn and not like this, flowers.
If anyone else followed this lady's example, I am curious to hear whether you had successful outcome after only sprinkling compost very thinly or quite thickly say 25mm thick?
I gave my lawn one final rake over after feeding it layer of compost.
Looks nice. I didn't see any clovers in the mix, or the other typical pioneer plants, such as dandelions. AFAIK, they are important for many wildflower ecosystems as clovers are nitrogen fixers and thus maintain a low to medium level of nutrients. If you go over board with nutrients you are likely growing tall weeds that harm the meadow. In general, if you want to keep plants short without mowing, then it's usually because tall plants can't grow there anyway (shallow, hard soil, or swamp-like).
If you have in the mix a range of plants for different moisture and sunshine levels, the mix will be very robust and adapt to your local conditions. You'll typically notice a shift across the area depending on sun exposure and potentially moisture (as some spots gather water and dry up last). For instance, there are various variants of sage and thyme. The prior exists in the Mediterranean version and a soft-leafed version in temperate climates. Thus, you might plant both, and only the driest, and sunniest places have the Mediterranean version growing in a few years, whereas the rest of the meadow is sprinkled with the more cold and moist tolerant soft-leafed version. Thyme has variants that can grow on minimal soil (basically on rocks). The darkest spots in the garden may be covered with plants such as winter aconite.
I can't think at the moment of a plant that survives in various levels of moisture (besides cultivated and wild rice), but they definitely exist. EDIT: I believe mint is one example.
We did have some clover pop up this year (year 2 of the mini meadow) so that’s good!! Also a few new perennials like yarrow and buttercup!! It definitely changed from last year, it so exciting to see it grow!! 😊 We don’t have such a dry climate here so I doubt I’ll get thyme but that would be awesome!! Thank you for sharing all this info 🙏💚😘😘
She thinks dandelions are weeds, that's why you can't see any.
Beautiful!!!😃💕🌻🌷🦋🌼🐦♥️🥰
Gigantic and the surrounding
It looks absolutely gorgeous!!