10 Comments

Lovely post - well done on the gravel! I just picked up one of my books yesterday and it said to plant august time so I'm a little confused about what I can do now/ soon. There'll be the seeds left over from nature last year but it would be good to plant more... hmmm...

Expand full comment

From what I understand, grass and wildflowers are all best sown in late summer/early autumn. I’ll respect then but am hoping for something at least during the summer if I sow in spring.

What is it you’re planting?

Expand full comment

Ahh ok! So I noticed today after I typed that we have sprouting wild seeds we feed to the chickens... so in a way I guess I can just try a mix and see what happens! Exciting!! ✨💫

Expand full comment

That’s exactly my plan. I’ll sow in a couple of weeks, then again a few weeks after that then once more in September and hope for the best. Trial and error! 🌱🌱

Expand full comment

Sorry to jump in 😆 but I’ve read loads on this and been trying to cultivate mine for a few years now - my understanding is it is best to do it in September but you can also do it in March

I have really heavy clay soil and I found it best to get them started in compost and then plant them in little sections which spread and joined together across the spring ❤️

Expand full comment

Ooh thank you. Yes I think September is definitely best but of course I only decided to do it after September had well and truly past! That’s a great idea to start some in compost and plant them out, thank you.

Expand full comment

I was reluctant to do that at first - as I’d read a lot about how, if the soil is too rich, you’ll just get loads of grass etc growing there that you don’t want - but the first year I just sowed them straight into the ground, they just didn’t grow

Last year I dug the ground over and started them off in compost first and it worked much better

An old man near me (who I’d desperately like to be friends with 😆🙏) just put loads of compost straight over his lawn last spring and put seeds down and his looked amazing

Expand full comment

I think I want to be friends with him too! 😂 I do want grass to grow, but I’ve picked certain grasses that will blend well with the flowers (or so I hope). I think it will very much be a case of try and see in the spring then go back and learn from hindsight in the autumn!

Expand full comment

What a lovely coincidence. Thank you for sharing this. As the fence in our rented property is being replaced, my tiny patch has been destroyed in the process. I was sad for a millisecond but then...I took it as a sign. A sign to finally create that little wildflower meadow I've always wanted. Your article is so timely. Looking forward to seeing how yours will progress :)

Expand full comment

Thank you. I hope you will share some photos of your own wildflower patch, I’d love to see.

Expand full comment