June 2021 - Week 4
Progress in the wildflower meadow
At the front of the property I have a wildflower meadow in progress.
First of all a native wildflower meadow in Canada is quite different from a British one, it's more of a prairie and depending on how much grass you put in it resembles a gutsy perennial border rather than the gently waving, ephemeral looking meadows of the English countryside. It's also quite different to start, needing clear soil and not heavily scarified grass; I think this is because that the grass found in turf mixes over here is non-native and needs to be removed to make way for indigenous species.
But you still need to start it a year in advance, so last fall I ordered a 'claybusters' seed mix from Wildflower Farm and as soon as it arrived in my mailbox the snow started falling lol. In short, it took me the whole of November and December dashing out in the brief intervals of thaw to prep the ground and had you been walking by on Christmas Eve you might have seen me frantically broadcasting seeds as the rain turned back to snow covering them in a cosy white blanket under which they could happily vernalize ready to burst into splendour in the spring.
That was the plan anyhow.
Spring this year was very disappointing, cold and dry, which is not ideal for seed germination and I feared for the longest time that I had had a complete fail 😞However, June has been a weird month of up and downs and as well as some warm and downright hot spells we've now had quite a lot of rain and amongst the weeds (that are looking quite spectacularly tall) I can see what I think are the plants that I actually wanted beginning to show their little faces. I think I definitely see some pale purple cone flowers, purple prairie clover and maybe some asters so things are definitely looking up.
I'm giving you this photo, but I might try and take another when the light is better. If nothing else it will make a good 'before' next year when it looks beautiful.
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| Awful photo of wildflower meadows June 2021 |
Here are some reasons to start a garden like this:
- It's cheap. I bought enough seed for 100 ft² for $40. That would have bought me about 2 or 3 gallon pot plants so if you enjoy watching the evolution of the garden and don't want instant that is a serious bargain.
- It's easy. I smothered the grass with cardboard and earth so it was no dig for me. All I am supposed to do now is strim it 6 inches tall every time it reaches about a foot then mow it right down to the ground in fall and again next spring. This should encourage the roots of my prairie plants to grow and suppress annual weeds.
- It will be low maintenance. When it is established a wildflower garden like this just needs to be mowed very short once every 18 months and to have the dandelions removed it they appear in the spring. Eventually the plants should be so close together that weeds cannot establish themselves.
- It will be drought tolerant
- It will effectively allow water filtration because the roots are deep.
- Should be great for wildlife, especially beneficial insects.
- Given how fashionable prairie plants are these days it should look great by anybody's standards.
What's poppin' in the garden
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| Four-lined plant bugs on new comfrey plants |
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| Wild yarrow in front of Geranium Rozanne |
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| Wild strawberries |
Jobs for this week
BackJune 23. Strimmed all the long bits and mowed any bits that were still green after. The area sown with West Coast Seeds envirolawn is in way better condition than anywhere else and I'll definitely sow some more in the fall.- Boulevard
Extra bits and bobs
- Arugula and swiss chard in the face lion planter by the garage door
- Annual mix in the berry patch and the front corner of the pond garden where the little blue stem is looking feeble
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