Pat Mead’s garden meadow

I moved here nearly 5 years ago and inherited the garden.  There was much grass and many shrubs. I have a wonderful gardener who works with me to bring more wildlife into the garden.

In 2017 we decided to plant a wild flower area.  It has a clay soil here so I bought a mix of 19 different species suitable for clay soil from Meadow Mania.

First of all we covered the grass with black sheeting to kill it off over the winter, planted some yellow rattle (as it needs frost to germinate) and then seeded the rest in March 2018.

The summer after sowing saw the meadow begin to come to life but now, in its second year, wow!  I have counted 12 species and more may come as others die back.

I love how large the flowers are, it makes me very happy to see so many bees coming. Hedgehogs and even a deer have been visiting.

I have been collecting the yellow rattle seeds and will possibly plant more this year. I will wait until the end of the summer to cut back and await with anticipation next year’s surprises!

Before and after photographs. I’m in the last one, lost amongst them.