Wild flowers /meadows

I have quite a long strip of land - only narrow, about 12-18 inches - on the outside of my fence - bordering the pavement. It always looks a mess (it did have a hedge there but it was removed) - weeds etc.

Someone has suggested that I sow wild flowers there - has anyone any experience of this or advice?

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

I purchased a pkt of wild flower seed from amazon, only to have wild weeds grow up instead

Cornflower are easy to sow and i had a good success rate , i didnt thin them out as it suggested but left them thick to support each other ..

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

I always plant a wildflower mix and this is a very small area and it looks after itself, really.

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

I've always fancied making part of my lawn into a wild flower meadow, but to do it properly requires a lot of preparation. A friend has done it but he sprayed the lawn numerous times to kill it off, rotovated it twice and then planted the seeds. The first year he had a huge crop of thistles and little else. He did some more work and the next year it was a lovely meadow. But for a narrow strip such as yours I'd be tempted to just toss seeds around and see what happens!

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

That looks lovely cranberry. I've never tried planting wildflowers but if they were likely to turn out as good as yours, I would give them a try.

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

I only get a couple of packets of seed and save some from previous years, it's easy - I never thin them out, I like it a bit crowded. The little patch returns every year and it's full of insects, bees and butterflies.

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

It does look lovely Cranberry - what seeds do you get and what time of year do you sow them.

I looked on line and found there were lots of different types of wild flower meadows.

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

Kitty, it should tell you on the packet exactly what mix it is. Have a read of the packets at your garden centre.

Cranberry, your picture is very pretty. Well done you.

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

In early 2000 i moved house and wanted to make my new garden look nice, so sent off for some Wild Flower seeds that came on a roll of mossy earth which you embedded into the ground and watered them in. They did grow but not enough as i think that area of garden didn't get enough light.
By the way my favourite Flower is the Poppy
Your garden looks very well kept and lush... Well Done!

Re: Wild flowers /meadows

I think its a lovely idea to sow some seeds on otherwise unloved ground..

We have 'adopted' the space around the base of a tree just outside our house and together with our neighbours we have planted flowers and put up a low fence. The effect is that we now have 99% less dog and cat mess outside our houses because a loved space tends to deter people from allowing their dog to foul and the cats cant easily dig there..

(we did get permission from the council)