"The Four Features - The Wildflower Meadow"

Due to the ever-increasing human population much of the natural beauty of our countryside has been destroyed in order to feed us. Perhaps the greatest loss is the wildflower meadows where 98% have been destroyed in the last sixty years. That's the bad news. The good news is that people like you can recreate this part of our natural heritage by establishing wildflower meadows in our towns and cities.

The wildflower meadow will take up most of the space of your wildlife-friendly butterfly conservation garden. It will probably replace the evergreen lawn that has to be regularly mown throughout the growing season. The wildflower meadow, once established, will only have to be mown twice a year. Replacing the monochromatic green of a lawn with the kaleidoscopic colours of a wildflower meadow will not only delight the eye; it will come alive with the sound of thousands of buzzing insects as they visit the nectar-rich flowers. A wildflower meadow will also provide the host plants for several butterflies that need them to lay their eggs on — thus ensuring the next generation of butterflies that you have helped conserve.

Where to Start

Assuming that you have decided to convert the grass into a wildflower meadow, the grass will have to be removed along with the nutrient-rich topsoil. This can be done manually or mechanically depending on the size of the area and the fitness of your team. A turf cutter can be hired, at reasonable rates, from www.cwplant.co.uk. Stack the turf, grass to grass, and leave it to compost into a fine soil. This can then be used for potting, or incorporated into the soil on the cultivated area. Once the infertile subsoil has been exposed rake it over then wait for the weeds to appear. Then, as with the cultivated area, spray the area with a non-residue weed-killer, (Glyphosate/Round-up), to remove those pernicious perennial weeds such as couch grass and bindweed. Rake over the area again until you have a fine tilth; fragments of soil that the seeds can settle between. When you come to sow the seeds, mix them, in due proportion, with horticultural sand. This will help to separate the seeds and show you where they are. Once sown, tread over the area to encourage contact with the soil then water, gently, so as not to disturb the evenly dispersed seeds. The recommended sowing rate is 4 grams, (a tight fistful), per square metre from an 80% grass to 20% wildflower seed mixture.

In the spring following an autumn sowing, your new meadow will have to be mown down to about 5cm. You may have to do this more then once depending on how well the meadow is growing. (Butterfly Conservation recommends using a motor-powered Allen scythe). This is to encourage strong root systems to develop. Avoid using a strimmer as it is difficult to leave a 5cm stem. If the area is small, a pair of garden shears will suffice.

Once the meadow has become established, you will only have to mow twice a year; the first in the spring, the second in the autumn. But do not cut below 5cm because some of the butterflies (skippers) spend the winter as chrysalis on the stems of grasses. (Another reason not to use a strimmer). Leave the cuttings for a few days to allow the seeds to fall and the cuttings to dry out. Rake up the cuttings and either put them on the compost heap, or just throw them onto a heap in the wilder parts of your garden. Leave a border uncut so that the insects you disturb can retreat to safety and shelter.

As with the cultivated area, your wildflower meadow will take several seasons to mature. So be patient and try to get it right the first time by careful preparation. They will also have to be maintained. They have to be watered in dry periods; weeded, and generally (TLC) cared for. By establishing these areas for butterfly conservation, you will be creating something lasting and beautiful, so be justly proud of yourselves.

There are basically two types of wildflower meadow – Annual and Perennial. The annual meadow is sown in the same way as the perennial; the only difference being, apart from the different varieties of wildflowers, is that the annual meadow area has to be dug over every year.

What Seeds Shall We Sow?

This of course depends on what wildflowers and grasses your team has decided to grow and the size of the area. It will be a waste of time growing flowers to attract a species of butterfly that thrive in open heath-land or chalky downs. Our objective is to create habitats for the 22 species of butterflies that are indigenous to London and its environs. The following is a list of wildflowers and grasses that should be suitable.

	Common Name	Flowers	Colour	Height	Notes
1	Lady’s Smock	April/June	Lilac or White	1’	Nectar plant for Orange-tip that lays its eggs on the leaves. Likes the damp
2	Lesser Stichwort	May/Aug	White	1’	Food plant for the Lynchis Moth
3	Greater Knapweed	July…	Purple	2 - 3"	Important nectar plant for late summer. Later seeds for birds
4	Lady’s Bedstraw	July/Aug	Bright-Yellow	2 - 4’	Food plant for Humming Bird Hawk Moth & many others
5	Sheep’s Sorrel	May/Aug	Orange	1’	The seeds are important for finches. Food plant for the Small Copper Caterpillars
6	Field Scabious	July/Sept	Mauve-Blue	1 - 2’	Provides nectar & pollen for Beetles and Moths
7	Cornflower	May/Aug	Blue	3’	Avoid new pink-mauve & white varieties
8	Sweet Rocket	June/Sept	Lilac or White	1’	Large fragrant flowers
9	Yarrow	June/Sept	White	6"- 1'	An important source of mid-summer nectar
10	St John’s Wort	June/Sept	Yellow/Orange	2 - 3’	A useful insect plant
11	Hemp Agrimony	June/Sept	Pale Lilac	3’	Likes moist ground
12	Birds-Foot Trefoil	June/Sept	Yellow	1’	Food plant for many butterflies and moths
13	Small Scabious	July/Sept	Light-Blue	1’+	Seeds for birds in late summer
14	Night Flowering Catchfly	July/Aug	Pale Yellow	1’	Attracts night flying Insects. Grow with Virginia Stock as it can look rather tatty after flowering
15	Purple Loosestrife	June/Sept	Deep Purple	6’	Good nectar plant. Likes moist ground (pond). Very invasive, cut down to ground level in the autumn
16	Self-Heal	June/Sept	Lilac or White	4"- 2'	Spreads vigorously. Good groundcover. Very attractive to butterflies and other insects. Plant of grassy places
17	Ragged-Robin	May/July	Pink	1’- 3’	Self-seeds freely. Excellent for Bees. For the pond edge.

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