Imagine lying in the sunshine amongst an array of colourful meadow flowers, and hearing the rustle of a gentle breeze as you watch a butterfly settle on a nearby flower.... All in your own back garden!
For many people, mention the words 'English garden' and the first thing they think of is a lawn. But did you know that the formal, sweeping estate lawn is a relatively recent phenomenon? A certain Edward Budding invented the cylinder lawnmower in 1830 and before this date all 'lawns', or miniature meadows, had to be hand-scythed.
Lawns have since developed into artificial, water guzzling, chemical ridden, tightly cut, bright green areas in our gardens with few signs of life! However if you can resist the need to reach for a spray gun as soon as the tiniest single sprig of moss or clover emerges, read on. There's a whole new world to discover - I bet you never thought watching grass grow could be so interesting!
Meadows were created by the haymaking practices of farmers over many centuries. The crop (and therefore nutrients) was removed each year, resulting in low fertility soils discouraging the growth of grasses and allowing a host of beautiful flowers to flourish. Essentially, this process mimics a glade or a clearing in wood being grazed by deer, as the site is in full sun a great variety of flowers can live in this habitat.
Due to changes in agricultural land use including chemical inputs such as herbicides, 97% of our meadows have disappeared since 1949.
Within Britains towns, there are a million acres of grassland in gardens and parks. Currently, very little lives here (other than the odd daisy) because we're spraying and mowing them to death! This is an unmissable opportunity to recreate the beauty of our past countryside and enhance our gardens for our own enjoyment - if it's good for wildlife, it's good for you!
Many gardeners burn or dispose of leaves, grass cuttings and other garden waste, then, paradoxically, spend their hard-earned money on a chemical fertiliser to feed the lawn! We use 1865 calories of energy/square metre/year nearly a working day's energy intake per square metre - to keep lawn "tidy".
(See leaflet no.8 for tips on composting and greener alternatives to chemicals.)
With a meadow you can enhance your enjoyment of the garden, improve the environment AND AT THE SAME TIME reduce costs, chemical inputs, and energy consumption.
You can't lose!
Simply raising the blades of the lawnmower 2-3cm can make a lot of difference to lawn life
Firstly, you don't need to turn the whole lawn into a meadow a corner patch will do or perhaps make a circular meadow with a neatly mown border. Many of the flowers can be grown successfully in pots too - see leaflet No. 5 for more details.
Four types of meadow are covered in this leaflet. Which one you choose depends on how you wish to use your garden and the effect you'd like your meadow to have. Why not try a mosaic
of different meadows in your garden and see which one you prefer?
Types of meadow:
this will look neat, tidy and attractive year round and is perfect for a picnic on a sunny day. It is a good feeding habitat for blackbirds, thrushes, butterflies and bees and, at its edge, for hedgehogs.
the traditional hay meadows - the difference between the two being the time at which you mow. Spring meadows complete their crescendo during June, summer meadows peak in August. If your children want to use the lawn during July, a small patch of spring meadow maybe the choice for you. If you wish to picnic amongst butterflies, choose the summer meadow.
mimics the life cycle of a cornfield so includes not only harvesting but also ploughing and sowing of seed. The results can be spectacular and can fill a border or window box as well as an area of lawn.
You also need to know soil type. As a general rule East Dorset has sandy clay; Bournemouth has slow-draining clays and fertile lowlands, and sandy soils near the coast; you will need to reduce fertility to stop dominance of coarse-leaved, aggressive grasses. The species needed for each type of meadow are listed on this leaflet and general mixes are available from the suppliers overleaf.
If you want to grow a grassy meadow for butterflies, (4), (6) or a mini meadow in a pot (5) please refer to other leaflets in the series as indicated.
Recommended reading and support
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