Ruth sings the praises of a wildflower lawn
Where a bowling green pristine lawn was once seen as a must for suburban gardens, in these times of climate change and environmental warnings, more natural grassy areas are growing in popularity.
Over the years we have turned both our front and back gardens over to wildflowers, so apart from cutting a few paths, the mower has a rest between now and September. At its peak it is full of colour, from tall poppies, knapweeds and oxeye daisies to low-growing sainfoin, speedwells, kidney vetch and clovers.
It is also alive with insects, including a wide range of butterflies such as the declining small blue, cinnabar moths, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, bees and, as a result, bats, hedgehogs and lots of garden birds which pay their way by keeping pest numbers down.
Once established, wildflower meadows are easy to maintain and perfect for climate-resilient gardening because they don’t need feeding and their watering requirements are minimal.
Of course not everyone wants this level of rampant wildness in their garden (I’m not 100% sure what our neighbours think) but even a small area of uncut grass and flowers looks so pretty and will improve the biodiversity of your garden - as well as taking the strain out of keeping it pristine!
Spring and autumn are the best times to sow wildflower seeds, and do make sure you buy mixes designed to suit your soil. You could start by scattering seeds over bare patches left by the ravages of winter.
Throughout the year I’ll give you regular updates on how our lawn is progressing after its soggy start - and perhaps you could share your thoughts and pictures with us too? Email editor@amateurgardening.com
Beetling about
■ One of the most exciting
developments in our wildlife lawn is the arrival of oil beetles. These large and fascinating insects are in serious decline and three of their species are now extinct, with just five remaining - black, violet, rugged, short-necked and Mediterranean oil beetles.
■ We first noticed their presence a
few years ago and this year we have spotted lots already, with the beetles appearing on sunny days in the front and back gardens. Their preferred habitat is wildflower-rich grassland (our wildflower lawn is apparently perfect) and their life cycle is tied in with that of solitary mining bees.
■ Beetle larvae climb flower stalks
and ‘hitch’ a lift with foraging so
