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Weeds
and wild things ............. meadows, waste places and woodland
As
the saying goes, a weed is just a plant in the wrong place - but some
weeds are just thugs, some wild flowers are just weeds and some wild flowers
grown in garden conditions lose their appeal! ........
Would anyone class an orchid as a weed? Even the so called Common
Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, is not so common. To see
a clump of orchids such as the Lady's Slipper Orchid, [Cypripedium calceolus],
in flower in the wild would be stunning as it is extremely rare, although
some attempts are being made to re-introduce it to selected habitats in
the UK. On a garden visit a while ago I was stopped in my tracks by a
large clump of Cypripedium in full flower [although I don't know which
it was]. The clump was tucked into the lee of a wall - what a sight! Blowsy
certainly, but not vulgar!
Meadows [see below]
>> Go to Waste places
- grow hard
>> Go to Woodland -
spring plants
Meadows
The growth of interest in meadow and prairie style planting is allowing
us to re-asses the merits of less rarified British wild flowers as well
as welcoming-in a range of US weeds such as Rudbeckia, Echinacea and Helenium.
The wholesale mixing-in of non-native species can provide more colour
and 'texture' to last through the year. I remember years ago being entranced
by a planting of lupins in grass with a path mown through in one of the
Cambridge College gardens.
The English Meadow can be a bit of a hybrid, non-purists
use cornfield annuals in the mix for newly sown meadows to provide colour
in the first year or as an 'annual' meadow. These can include Corn
Marigold, Chrysanthemum segetum, Poppy, Papaver
rhoeas and Cornflower Centaurea cyanus. It is worth noting
that as a meadow matures these species will decline and finally vanish.
Non-native bulbs such as Crocus thomasianus, Camassia
and tulips are often planted to provide colour and interest. At The Garden
House in Devon they are making a meadow with native and non-native plants
and bulbs including a pretty little Ornithogalum which I saw flowering
in May.
If
you are considering something more akin to a traditional meadow often
after intensive farming or lawn culture the grass species are too competitive
for other plants to establish. It is quite sad to see some of the 'improved'
grassland near Combe Gibbet in Berkshire, a lovely chalk downland now
lush green grass and nettles. Small pockets of the previous flora does
exist, in June there was a fantastic display of Common Spotted Orchids,
Fragrant Orchids Gymnadenia conopsia and the lovely Quaking
grass just by the roadside.
One way of enabling new plants to be introduced on existing intensively
cultivated grassland is to weaken the grasses which have been encouraged
by the nutrients added over the years. The introduction of an annual,
Yellow Rattle, Rhinanthus minor [the common name derives from the
sound of the seedpods rattling in the breeze] parasitises grass roots,
weakening the grass and allowing other species in. [Chiltern Seeds stock
seeds of Yellow Rattle and many other British natives - see link at bottom
of page] Perhaps I should consider some Guerilla gardening with
a mass scattering of Yellow Rattle around Combe Gibbet!
Sounds a bit gruesome but it works, one of the fields at Lusty Hill Farm
is a sheet of yellow rattle in some years, now in the grass orchids are
re-gaining a foothold, as are other species. The Butterfly orchid
pictured above right appeared in 2008.
Hay meadows need to managed in terms of cutting the hay [later than modern
farming practice], which allows ripe seed to fall into the sward. The
hay then needs to be taken off not left to lie so it's not a low maintenance
option at certain times of the year.
Dr
Angus Davies in his PhD looks at the complexities of 'native' meadow restoration
on land at Lusty Hill Farm in Somerset which up until 16 years
ago was regularly reseeded and fertilised to support a dairy herd. His
conclusions make interesting reading for anyone thinking of taking on
the task of creating an 'English' style wildflower hay meadow.
The type of land you are 'gardening' on will dictate to some extent what
you grow and what will establish. I remember visiting Sticky
Wicket a few years ago and one field was almost all flowers including
Meadow Clary, Salvia pratensis which was very striking.
Some
native plants have proved more robust than others in establishing and
staying established at Lusty Hill Farm, for example the Ox-eye
Daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare disappeared quite quickly in the
fields and yet you see it flowering away on roadsides and one assumes
it is pretty tough but it doesn't appear to like too much competition/crowding.
The picture to the left shows a mix of native wild flowers established
in a garden context including Red Campion Silene dioica,
vetches and the pretty biennial Campanula patula, the
Ox Eye Daisy is much happier in this impoverished but less competitive
situation.
If you want to see a selection of English Wildflowers [or weeds] visit the Somerset Wild Flower Collection at the Carymoor Environmental Centre
The
more robust introductions surviving with competition include the spring
flowering Cowslip, Primula veris, Common Mallow, Malva moschata and
Meadow Cranesbill, Geranium pratense [right].
If you are interested in finding out more about establishing an 'old fashioned'
hay meadow which is floristically diverse on a small or large scale I
recommend reading Dr Davies's PhD. There are also links to other sources
at the end of the page.
His findings include the results of establishing new plants through seeding,
pot grown and plug plants as well as which plants are better to establish
and at what times of the year it is best to plant. He has also researched
different mowing and grazing regimes. There is an extensive bibliography
>>
Find out more about re-establishing a native meadow
You may also be interested in the Private Nature Reserves Network [PNR]
if you own a few acres of land which you want to manage
in a wildlife friendly way - contact your local Wildlife Trust.
References
and links
Dr
Davies's PhD - The Floristic Restoration of Agriculturally Improved Grassland
[PDF
format]
Plants
to attract insects into the garden
>> Go to Waste places
- grow hard
>> Go to Woodland -
spring plants
>>
Kari's
Garden selection of books on meadow planting and gardening for wildlife
See
Carymoor Environmental Centre
- South Somerset where you can see wild flowers being established on a
former landfill site and includes a growing collection of English native
plants
Great Dixter - Christopher Lloyd's garden in Sussex, well established meadows are part of the garden
Sticky
Wicket in Dorset - Pam Lewis is a leading exponent of meadow gardening
and planting for wildlife
Many
UK Wildlife Trusts have old meadows which you can visit, why not
contact a trust local to you?
The area around Hawes
in the Yorkshire Dales is famous for its meadows [and cheese]
Buy plants and
seeds
As well
as being able to buy plants from some of the places to see above ......
Arne Herbs - over 800 varieties of herbs and wild flowers
Chiltern Seeds - including Linaria, Wild Carrot and Bath Asparagus
Really Wild Flowers - plug plants of a wide range of native species
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@Kari's garden 2002 - 2008