Bored of your lawn and want to start a wildflower meadow instead? Growing wildflowers is easy and satisfying, and is one of the best ways to create a wildlife friendly garden. There are a couple of things you should do to establish a wildflower garden, but once established, it will pretty much take care of itself.
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How to grow a wildflower meadow
One of the best methods for growing wildflowers we've found comes from the BBC's Monty Don (watch his video guide below). Don's top tips for growing wildflowers are:
1. Get rid of that grass: yes, the patch of lawn you're transforming into a wildflower meadow will need to be grass free in order to thrive. First, using your lawnmower, cut down the grass as much as you can.
2. Next, rake over the soil to get rid of any remaining grass. Use a finer rake to disturb the soil as much you can.
3. Now, plant your seeds. Make sure there's a meadow mix and not a cornflower mix. To help establish your meadow, choose a mix that contains yellow rattle, or add yellow rattle seeds to your mix. This plant suppresses grass and aids other wild flowers.
4. Now, walk all over the meadow patch to aid germination. Your meadow is ready to grow. Be patient, though: it'll be a couple of months before you see any flowers, while some may only germinate next year.
