Wild flower meadows can be a great source of inspiration for a garden. Grasslands have a certain similarity to water in that they are easily swayed by the wind and therefore create movement. The elegance of long grass blades moving in the breeze creates a beautiful, yet relaxed and understated effect. The atmosphere meadows evoke is that of freedom, expansive wild places and big skies. Does that remind you of carefree summer days of your childhood? If so, you can consider yourself very privileged. Sadly, grasslands and meadows are rapidly disappearing from the natural landscape…
Meadow as a garden theme
Your garden might not be large enough to accommodate an actual meadow or a slice of native grassland but that does not mean that you cannot use it as a theme. What you are trying to do is distil the main characteristics of this type of landscape and translate it into a theme for a planting bed, part of or the whole garden. You will need to simplify the planting as native meadows are very complex habitats. The features you might want to use in your project could include a large percentage of grasses, flowering perennials and a high density of planting in general.
Meadow as a garden feature
If you have more space, you might be able to create an actual meadow. In that case, you will need to decide what type of meadow would be most appropriate in your garden. Meadows can vary in their suitability for different soil types and growing conditions, flowering species content, and colour pallet. These days you can buy standard or bespoke seed mixes or meadow turf. Another option would be to convert an existing area of lawn or orchard into a patch of rough grass. Spring flowering bulbs suitable for naturalization can then be planted directly into it. You might even be able to establish appropriate native perennials from plugs to extend flowering into summer months. This last approach is quite organic, kind to the environment and cost effective on a larger scale. It also allows for endless experimentation if you are adventurous!
Design considerations for a garden setting
- Practical considerations – planting schemes based loosely on a meadow theme will require quite traditional maintenance and will normally be more labour intensive than actual meadows or areas of rough grass underplanted with spring bulbs. If you decide you would like to devote an area to a meadow please bear in mind that with one or two yearly cuts the meadow will only look its best for a few months in summer. And this is especially true of native meadows. To extend the season of interest planting schemes for more formal flower borders can include non-native species of flowering perennials. These are especially beneficial to insects foraging for food in late summer and autumn months.
- Aesthetic considerations – colours and textures are the obviously characteristics to be considered when deciding on the style of a planting scheme. A few companies offer meadow seed mixes and meadow turfs and looking through their websites will give you a good idea about what is available. Some of them will offer bespoke services in designing, supplying and even installing a meadow. However, if you would rather plant a stylized meadow instead, then use plenty of ornamental grasses in you planting scheme. Grasses look best planted in drifts or large blocks and can be interspersed with flowering perennials in varying proportions depending on the desired look. The flower heads of ornamental grasses are by definition quite modest compared to these of many other flowering plants, but they can be spectacular in their simplicity and graceful movement. They not only dance in the breeze, but while doing so they also make wonderful rustling sound. This is also the case in winter as dried flower stalks and foliage persist often until January or even February. The flower heads make a beautiful display especially when backlit by the low evening, or winter, sun so think carefully about where to plant them.
More information on creating meadows
RHS, as always, is very helpful in their thorough advice on creating meadows and meadow-like habitats. Take the time to look at the following article before making any decisions:
- Creating wildflower meadows – great introduction to different ways of creating meadows
- Lawn and mini-meadow habitats – ideas on a flower-rich lawn and long grass areas
- Wildflower meadow maintenance – a simple guide to looking after your meadow
There are also some great products out there if you would like to try your hand at seeding a meadow. It is worth contacting the supplier of meadow seed to discuss your requirements if you are not sure which of their seed mixes would be most suited to your garden. Some suppliers, such as Pictorial Meadows, also offer an installation, maintenance and consultation services. Their website offers very useful guides to help you with soil preparation, sowing and management if you want to do it all or oversee the process yourself. Either way the guidance is definitely worth reading!
Would you like to incorporate elements of a meadow landscape into the planting design for you own garden?
If so, please contact us to talk about what might be appropriate for you and your garden…