When the meadows bloom lushly yellow in spring, our hearts soar. Millions of dandelion plants create a wonderful sea of flowers, but this quickly comes to an end. Dandelions thrive primarily in well-fertilized meadows, which, however, are devoid of flowers after they have bloomed. In contrast, a meager wildflower meadow often contains more than 100 different flowers and herbs that bloom throughout the entire growing season. Find out here how you can create a species-rich wildflower meadow.
How do I create a wildflower meadow?
To create a wildflower meadow, slim down the garden soil by stopping fertilization and removing cuttings. Dig the prepared soil thoroughly, make it finely crumbly and mix the seeds with sand. Sow the mixture evenly and press down lightly. Use perennial, local seeds.
Learn garden soil
First of all: the “fatter”, i.e. richer in nutrients, a soil is, the fewer wildflowers and herbs will grow on it. A wild meadow typically thrives best on poor, i.e. H. nutrient-poor soils are best. The reason for this lies in the fast-growing nature of certain grasses, which shoot up quickly when there is a good supply of nitrogen and displace slower-growing flowers and herbs. In order to successfully establish a wildflower meadow in the garden, you must first thin out the soil - this is especially true if you want to create the wild meadow on a previously well-maintained lawn.
How to deplete the earth
You can start thinning the soil by first stopping all fertilization - two to three years before you want to create the actual flower meadow. To speed up the process, mow the meadow or lawn about four to five times per year. However, the crop must under no circumstances be left lying on the green area, but must be removed. In a final step, the slimming takes place by removing very humus-rich layers and/or mixing in sand.
Preparing soil and sowing flower seeds
If the soil is sufficiently emaciated, you can prepare it for sowing. To do this, dig up the soil thoroughly and crush the soil until it is as fine as possible. It is best to mix the fine seeds with sand (or another spreading aid) and spread them widely and as evenly as possible over the entire area. It is better to take too many seeds than too few, because experience has shown that wildflowers have a very low germination rate compared to cultivated plants. The seeds must not be covered with soil as most meadow flowers are light germinators. So you only need to press the seeds lightly. A lawn roller (€67.00 on Amazon) or a harrow are ideal for this.
Which seeds can be used?
Adequate – i.e. high-quality and suitable – wildflower seeds are not easy to come by. The mixtures available in normal garden centers are usually unsuitable because they hardly contain any native species and almost only contain annual species. This means that a permanent wildflower meadow cannot establish itself on your green space. Instead, prefer flowers and herbs that are perennial and native to your region. You can get such seeds online, in a country store or in an agricultural center.
Tips & Tricks
Another, very natural form of seed production is hay mulching. You mow a withered poor meadow from your region and store the hay on the area prepared for sowing. The seeds from the hay fall onto fertile soil and will hopefully ensure lush blooms the following year.
