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A flower meadow not only looks beautiful, it is also a magnet for insects and thus serves to protect species. However, creating a new perennial flower meadow is not as easy as it seems.

In a nutshell

  • Flower meadows enrich every garden
  • provide food for insects and are decorative
  • New planting requires some effort so that the meadow stays beautiful for several years
  • not every floor is suitable
  • Maintenance measures are then limited

make preparations

A species-rich flower meadow does not thrive on every surface, especially not perennial. For example, a lawn that is frequently fertilized is a very bad location. Flowers need poor soil, otherwise only species that benefit from fertilization will thrive, and over the years there are fewer and fewer flowers to be seen, while grasses become more common.

Characteristics for a suitable location

The ideal location for a flower meadow

emaciated location

The most important thing for a species-rich flower meadow that should thrive for several years is a lean substrate. This means that any fertilization of the area is stopped immediately. If an area is to lose weight naturally, this usually takes several years. Then a flowering meadow with native species usually develops on its own, which gradually settles. However, the area must be left to itself.

Guide to losing weight

  • 1. If the soil is very clayey, apply sand. Do it generously. Scatter the sand in a thick layer over the surface and then dig it up with the subsoil.
  • 2. When the clods have settled a little, chop the whole surface thoroughly and smooth it out. This also makes the soil more permeable.
Tomatoes, but also cabbage, potatoes or courgettes remove many nutrients from the soil and help to make it thinner.
  • 3. If the soil is already permeable enough, it makes more sense to plant heavy feeders on it for one season. This can be vegetables, but also grass. So if the area was already green, then the fertilization is stopped and the lawn mowed frequently.
  • 4. Remove the clippings and thus repeatedly withdraw nutrients from the grass. If weeds form, ignore them and simply mow them.

Choosing the right seed

Not every seed for flower meadows creates a flowering area that remains beautiful for several years or becomes more and more beautiful over time. All mixtures that are annual are excluded from the outset; these can at best be mixed with perennial seeds so that flowers bloom in the first year.

The most important characteristic of the right mix is not how many species it contains, but whether it is suitable for the chosen location. In addition, as few grasses as possible should be included. In a perennial flower meadow, these appear all by themselves over time.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Notice: Even if many native plants are notorious as weeds, they are the best basis for creating a species-rich flower meadow.

Instructions: Create a perennial flower meadow

prepare ground

Flowering meadow seeds are mostly light germinators. That is why good soil preparation before planting the flower meadow is very important. The surface is thoroughly loosened. Remove all stones and weeds. Finally, rake the surface very smooth. For larger areas, install irrigation that covers the entire area.

sowing

Depending on the weather, sowing takes place when the soil has dried a little but is still moist. The best time is between early April and mid-May, after which it quickly becomes too warm and too dry. However, you can also create a flowering meadow in autumn. Simply follow the instructions below:

After raking in, you must press the seeds firmly into the ground, e.g. with a lawn roller.
  1. Mix seeds with sand or fine soil.
  2. Distribute with a spreader or by hand, paying attention to an even sowing. Quantity information is on the package, it is better to sow a little too much than too little.
  3. Rake in the seeds lightly. Attention: Not too deep, they need light!
  4. Roll the surface or press down the seeds well in some other way. They must have a good connection to the soil in order for them to germinate successfully.
  5. Irrigate the area. Be careful not to wash away the light seeds.

Care until germination

The most important thing is to keep the area moist for four to six weeks. Irrigate or water regularly, especially when it is dry. In addition, the future flower meadow may not be walked on. It is best to ignore germinating weeds, they are usually indistinguishable from the "real" seeds. Bird feed can sometimes become a problem. In this case, set up a self-made scarecrow or cover the area with a net.

Caring for perennial flower meadows

A perennial flower meadow is basically very easy to care for. However, one should not assume that the same flowers bloom every year. In most cases, the species sown at the beginning become increasingly rare and are replaced by other, more competitive ones. Maintenance measures include mowing the meadow once or twice a year at the most.

There are a few things to keep in mind when mowing a flower meadow.

However, it is difficult to find the right time for this:

  • directly before and during flowering is eliminated
  • after flowering, seed formation begins, which is desirable in a flowering meadow
  • faded stems provide winter quarters for insects

One possibility is to mow the meadow before the new shoots appear and to store the old shoots in a loose heap in a shady spot so that overwintering insects can still leave them. If the meadow is also to be mowed a second time, then only after it has been completely mowed. This can be recognized by the empty seed pods.

Mow the flower meadow properly

The lawn mower is out of the question, it is simply not suitable for a flowering meadow. A bar mower has decisive advantages for larger areas. A scythe and mowing by hand is sufficient for a small meadow. Flowers that are still in bloom can also be taken into account very well. A flowering meadow is never mowed as short as a lawn and it is not about mowing the area as neatly as possible. A cutting height of 10 cm is sufficient.

Tip: Always remove grass clippings from the meadow. As a result, the site continues to become emaciated and species richness increases.

frequently asked Questions

How to get rid of weeds in the meadow?

Not at all. There are no weeds on a flowering meadow. Only plants that are perennial in the location will prevail. If weeds that require a lot of nutrients (e.g. dandelion) prevail, this indicates that the area is not yet emaciated enough.

How does a flower meadow keep blooming for several years?

On the one hand, annual mowing is important for this, but on the other hand, giving the flowers the opportunity to sow themselves.

Does a flower meadow have to be fertilized?

No, that is absolutely unnecessary. Unless the surface is very sandy and lean. But then it is enough to chop the grass clippings and spread them over the area. Even without fertilizer, a flowering meadow remains beautiful for many years.

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Garden design