How to create a mini wildflower meadow
Want your garden to work in harmony with nature? Transform and protect it with Cuprinol Ducksback, then frame it with an informal but elegant planting scheme
You no doubt already spend a lot of time in your garden, so it makes sense to treat it like another room in your house – a welcoming sanctuary that makes you feel good. So, go on, give it some love. Brighten it up and protect it from all weathers with Cuprinol Ducksback, then create a small wildflower meadow with native flowers to complement.
Not only will your meadow look beautiful, but it will also attract a wide range of wildlife, from bees and other pollinating insects such as beetles and butterflies, to amphibians and birds, so you’ll be doing your bit to help nature too. Read on to discover how to get started...
1. Choose a place
Get started by choosing an area in your garden that you’re happy to let grow freely. Most wildflowers thrive in nutrient-poor soils, but ideally should be in a warm, bright spot. The area can be flat or sloping and it doesn’t have to be big, as even a small patch can help make a difference.
If you only have a tiny outdoor space and don’t have the room to dedicate to a full meadow, why not weave wildflowers and grasses into your beds and borders, or sow them in containers instead?
2. Brighten up
Before you start working on your meadow, take the opportunity to paint your fence or shed. Cuprinol Ducksback will both transform and offer you the best protection for your rough-sawn wood, as it has an advanced wax-enriched formula that absorbs into the wood and imitates the water-repellent properties of a duck’s back, so water will just run off the surface.
Safe for plants and pets, it offers up to five years of all-weather protection, so anything you paint will be as low maintenance as the wildflowers you’re about to sow. And after you’ve fastened plants away from your fence or shed, removed any weeds or debris, and cleaned the panels with a brush, the painting itself is a doddle, as Cuprinol Ducksback is non-drip and glides onto wood easily.
The toughest part will be choosing what colour you want. There’s a selection of shades inspired by nature, including sleek Silver Copse for an understated look to complement your meadow, a bold Black that would help the flowers stand out in contrast, and calm Forest Green to make your garden really feel lush.
3. Prep the ground
Once you’ve settled on your spot and the Cuprinol Ducksback has fully dried (give it two-four hours), you’ll need to prepare the ground. You may be planning to grow wildflowers from seed, but an alternative, quicker option for establishing a meadow is to simply lay wildflower turf – either way, the ground preparation is the same.
Remove a few strips of lawn, if you have any in this area, along with the top layer of soil (this will help reduce the fertility), using a turf cutter or a spade. You’ll then need to get rid of any remaining weeds and remove big stones. Level the surface out with a rake, then consolidate it by walking up and down, taking small, heavy steps, then rake again.
4. Pick your flowers
If you want to use wildflower turf, you won’t have to worry about this step as it will already contain a variety of grasses and flora, but if you’re going with the seed option, you’re now ready to choose your flower mix. There’s so much choice, it can be hard to know where to begin, but going for something as simple as what colour combinations work well together or will complement your newly painted fence or shed is a good place to start.
Vibrant blue cornflower, delicate purple scabious, bright yellow corn marigolds and daisy-like German chamomile, for example, work well together and are ideal for informal mini meadows. They’re also versatile and work well in mixed borders paired with perennials, plus they’re popular with wildlife.
Alternatively, you could try combining wild and cultivated blooms together, such as pink corn cockles and deep blue agapanthus, for a burst of colour. Other wildflowers to consider are red clover, ox-eye daisy, cowslip, bellflower, forget-me-not, field poppy and ragged robin. You may also want to include a wild grass, such as crested dog’s tail.
5. Get growing
The best time to sow seeds is the autumn. Take a handful and simply scatter them as you walk. To get an even coverage, you could split the seeds into batches and sow one batch while walking in one direction and then another while walking at 90 degrees. There’s no need to rake the seeds in or to cover them with soil, just gently walk across them to press them in. Make sure the spot is well watered until the seeds have established.
To lay wildflower turf, lay it directly on the soil, staggering the joints like brickwork and using a knife to cut off any excess. As with the seeds, water it well.
6. Let nature take its course
There’s no need to fertilise your meadow, and you shouldn’t mow it until the flowers have had time to finish setting seed (you can aid this by shaking seedheads back over the area). Wildflower meadows only need cutting once a year, and it’s best to do it in the autumn. When you do mow, make sure to remove all the cuttings to keep the soil fertility low.
You should soon see bees and butterflies, and maybe even the odd grasshopper, visiting your meadow, plus birds will start to feed there too. You’ll also find it will evolve over the years and will naturally become richer in species without you needing to lift a finger!
Leftover Cuprinol Ducksback?
If you have some Cuprinol Ducksback left in the tin after you’ve painted your fence or shed, why not use it all up on a smaller DIY project? You could create a snazzy al fresco bar, for example, or continuing with the wildlife-friendly theme, you could make a bee hotel, a bird house, or even a little hedgehog house, and finish them off with a protective coat of your leftover Cuprinol Ducksback.