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Meadow flattened - devastated

WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
in Plants
I went away for a week and came back to a completely flattened meadow because of the rains. I'm beyond gutted. It had just started to look amazing before I went and now I'm expecting to not enjoy it at all for the rest of the summer (it surrounds our main patio area we use to enjoy the garden). Its mostly oxeye daisies but also in there is wild carrot, knapweed, yarrow, sorrel etc. I dont know what to do! The stems aren't actually broken, instead it seems they've just fallen at the bottom of the heavy stems creating large gaps and a very unsightly collapsed effect. Should I cut back? Leave it? More rain is forecast.

Please help! 


"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"

Posts

  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    We have lots of ox eye daisies, they quite often bounce back up as they dry out
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Is it a large meadow ........ if it's a border or two you can gently shake the rain from the foliage ... it'll perk up.  If it's several acres that's probably not feasible ... but it'll recover quite a bit when the sun shines ... it won't look pristine ... it's English weather on English meadows ... they've been around for quite a while and survived.  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    Be patient. 
    It may well bounce back.
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
    I've found that my little wildflower areas have been flattened, too. Fingers crossed they will bounce back when they're not being weighed down by the water and flattened by the wind!
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Possibly it is because they are growing too lush. Wild flowers don't need fertiliser.  If it is a small area you could try cutting some of them in half, a late chelsea chop.  Start by cutting the ox eye daisies to a foot high.
  • WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
    Thanks everyone! I've left it and some areas have started to perk up a bit as the rain has eased off. Other more floppy areas I might try staking somehow but at least it's looking less like the disaster I came back to :)
    "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"
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