A colorful and abundantly blooming summer flower meadow offers a lot of variety for the eye as well as plenty of food for numerous insects and other small animals. In the following article you will find out which summer flowers should definitely not be missing from a beautiful meadow and what you should consider when planting them.
Which summer meadow flowers should you plant?
Typical summer meadow flowers are sunflowers, mallows, zinnias, silk poppies and candytufts. Wildflowers such as yarrow, Adonis rose, corn wheel, meadow arnica, field marigold, meadow bellflower and meadow daisies also ensure a colorful, varied flower meadow.
Don't sow seeds for summer meadow flowers until April at the earliest
Many summer meadow flowers are annual or biennial plants that should not be sown until April at the earliest. Many seeds can be sown into June and provide lots of colorful splashes of color in summer. When selecting flower varieties, pay attention to different colors, heights, flowering times and duration - such criteria create more variety and also ensure that new flowers keep coming as soon as other types have faded.
Prepare soil before sowing
Flower seeds need to be lightly worked into the soil so that they can germinate and grow. It is not enough to simply sprinkle them on an existing lawn or meadow - in this case the germination rate will remain very low. Before sowing, work the soil with a hoe ora rake to loosen it. Mix the flower seeds with a little sand as this way a more even distribution can be achieved. Press the seeds lightly with a hoe or similar. After sowing, the soil should be kept slightly moist.
Suitable summer meadow flowers
There are many thousands of different types of summer meadow flowers, although a distinction can be made between wild and garden flowers. For a colorful garden meadow, typical summer flowers such as sunflowers, mallows, zinnias, silk poppies, morning glories, girl's eye, nasturtiums or candytufts are just as suitable as wild summer flowers, which include the following species:
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), white-flowering medicinal plant
- Adonis rose (Adonis aestivalis), red-flowering, very poisonous and rare former field weed
- Corn orb (Agrostemma githago), pink-flowering, poisonous and very rare wildflower
- Meadow arnica (Arnica chamissonis), strong yellow-flowering, perennial medicinal plant
- Field marigold (Calendula arvensis), annual, yellow-flowering summer flower
- Meadow bellflower (Campanula patula), violet-flowering, biennial plant
- Bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides), purple-flowering, with spike-like flower cluster
- or meadow daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare). white blooming flower for poor meadows
- Meadow knapweed (Centaurea jacea), red-flowering dye plant (colors yellow)
- Centaury (Centaurium erythraea), red-flowering, biennial
- Royal chicory (Cichorium intybus), blue flowering
- Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), blooms bright yellow all summer long
Tips & Tricks
You can buy ready-made seed mixes from specialist retailers, but you can also put together different seeds yourself according to your own taste. Make sure to re-sow the seeds every spring, as the self-sowing of the summer meadow is hindered by birds etc.
