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Converting lawn into wildflower/grass mix - advice on seed mix needed

Anna33Anna33 Posts: 316
in Tools and techniques
So we've got an area of existing lawn that I want to convert over to something a lot more wild, that will have way more wildlife value than our existing lawn. From what I've read, there are two ways to do this - one is to strip the turf completely the other is to rake out about 50% (at least) thatch and existing grass. This second one is the option that we're going for. I'm probably looking at cutting it once a year, in early spring, so as to provide habitat for insects over winter.

I've got clay soil, reasonably fertile, although with the lack of lawn care from us over the past couple of years, it's now got quite bit of moss in there. It's slightly acidic, and most of it will be in full sun come the summer months. In the winter months it will get sun (if out...!), but only for some of the day. It is N facing, but still quite open.

Based on all of the above, what type of seed mix should I go for? I'm so confused by the options - I will get one for clay soils, but as we won't be removing all the grass beforehand, do I still go for one with a mix of grasses and flower seed, or just flower seed? If I go for a mix of grass and flower seed, what will happen when the remaining lawn grass grows? Will it be a waste of time as that will just take over again? Will the grasses in the seed mix be able to grow as well?

Apologies if I'm over thinking and it's all quite obvious.

Posts

  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    The grass will continue to dominate, though you will get some flowers pushing through (either naturally or from your seed). The trick is to reduce the fertility of the soil over time which means cutting back late summer after flowers have had a chance to set seed and (most importantly) removing all the cuttings so they don't rot down and feed the soil. You can continue to mow through autumn, always removing the clippings. It goes without saying that you should never feed it.

    I know you said you want to leave it long over winter, but it will all start to flop over anyway once you get some heavy wind and rain. You could always leave a section or a margin uncut through winter.

    This requires patience, as it will take years to reduce the nutrient levels (and dominance of grass).  But a grass dominated meadow can still look nice. Yellow rattle will help as it's semi-parasitic, stealing nutrients from grass roots and so weakening the grass. But yellow rattle is not a panacea to give you an instant wildflower meadow, it will just help things along (and it looks nice as well). You can sow it in spring but even better to sow it fresh in late summer after you've cut back and scarified.

    The faster method is the other one you mentioned - stripping the turf (and, just as importantly, the most fertile upper layer of soil).

    There are a number of websites offering meadow seed for specific conditions if you do a google search.
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    I should have added, planting spring bulbs in your meadow will help it look nice straight away, at least in spring. I've planted snakes-head fritillaries and camassias in mine, but they do need some sun in springtime, especially the camassias. If you have spring bulbs in, it's yet another reason not to cut in springtime!
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    except for Yellow Rattle don't waste your time and money sowing seeds into grass. A few things will self seed in time but it's not reliable. You don't have to clear the whole lot, do some patches and sow into those.
    Lastly, Poppies, Cornflowers and all those bright coloured annuals are not grassland plants, they are traditional cornfield plants needing cultivated soil. Most grass meadow plants are perennials, Knapweeds, Scabious etc


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    If I was doing this and it wasn't a vast area, I would order plug plants of the strongest growing perennial wildflowers, and plant them at say 30-50cm centres. Things like Yarrow, Ox Eye Daisy, Greater Knapweed, Scabious, Salad Burnet etc and not forgetting to interplant with spring flowers like Cowslips.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
    I have clay soil and we turned a section of our lawn into a meadow area in 2020. We removed the turf rather than try and sow into existing grass. A few things I have noticed:

    - The meadow is definitely slowly self-seeding into the rest of lawn when the border of the meadow meets it. It might mean that removed small section of your lawn and seeding those, and then leaving it to spread might be a good approach.
    - In nutrient-rich clay soil, we find that our wildflowers get HUGE! A lot grow well in excess of a metre high, some closer to 1.5m+! The effect is lovely when in bloom but we did find that in strong rains/winds, the meadow can flatten (and doesn't necessarily recover well).
    - As others have said, perennial wildflowers have done best. The seed mix we used initially (we used mostly Beebombs) included annuals such as poppies and cornflowers, but although we had a smattering in the first year, they didn't self-seed or come back. I expect the damp soil wasn't right for them. 
    - What has thrived most is oxeye daisies, knapweed, ribwort plantain, sorrel, yarrow, wild carrot, rough hawkbit, self heal, and salad burnett. We didn't use a specific mix for clay soil, but these were all found in the Beebombs we purchased.

    I don't know if any of this helps! A picture from last summer below - you can see how big they grew!

    "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"
  • Anna33Anna33 Posts: 316
    These replies are all so helpful, thank you. Practical advice and experience, rather than the generic catch-all approaches mentioned on the various specialist websites I've been reading. These really have given me something to consider. For example, quite a few sites (or videos I've watched) do show people sowing into existing grass, once it's been massively scarified, thinned etc, so I thought that was a feasible option. Also, I hadn't really considered what wind and rain will do to the patch over winter. I just wanted to provide more habitat in the garden! I always leave all my borders uncut until early Spring, so there is that, but as my shrubs are still in their infancy, and the lawn is just there, I wanted to do something more. I get so bored by the lawn not doing a huge amount to contribute.

    Thank you especially @borgadr and @WildFlower_UK - and this has really helped seeing a photo and how tall they get! Am looking at that with envy rather than as cautionary tale, though. :D

    I'm really finding the help and advice from people with experience invaluable.
  • WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
    Glad you found it useful, @Anna33! I also wanted to create more habitat in the garden and have definitely really enjoyed all the pollinators and other insects coming into the garden through the Summer into Autumn! I think you'll be able naturalise wildflowers into your lawn over time. You could always consider wildflower pots for more instant effect :) Best of luck! 
    "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"
  • richardellis66richardellis66 Posts: 36
    Anna33 said:
    So we've got an area of existing lawn that I want to convert over to something a lot more wild, that will have way more wildlife value than our existing lawn. From what I've read, there are two ways to do this - one is to strip the turf completely the other is to rake out about 50% (at least) thatch and existing grass. This second one is the option that we're going for. I'm probably looking at cutting it once a year, in early spring, so as to provide habitat for insects over winter.

    I've got clay soil, reasonably fertile, although with the lack of lawn care from us over the past couple of years, it's now got quite bit of moss in there. It's slightly acidic, and most of it will be in full sun come the summer months. In the winter months it will get sun (if out...!), but only for some of the day. It is N facing, but still quite open.

    Based on all of the above, what type of seed mix should I go for? I'm so confused by the options - I will get one for clay soils, but as we won't be removing all the grass beforehand, do I still go for one with a mix of grasses and flower seed, or just flower seed? If I go for a mix of grass and flower seed, what will happen when the remaining lawn grass grows? Will it be a waste of time as that will just take over again? Will the grasses in the seed mix be able to grow as well?

    Apologies if I'm over thinking and it's all quite obvious.

    Have you considered covering an area of the grass for a while to kill it off? I had a patch that used to be dominated by pots. When I moved them I had a lot of bare soil surrounded by grass. It was ideal to wildflower seeds. 

    Some seed providers will provide a mix to suit your soil type. Worth considering this. We are on chalk and a chalk mix is much more effective than a general mix. 
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    I tried for several years to grow a wildflower area at the bottom of our garden round the fruit trees. Also clay,had to use a pickaxe. Tried seed, bought plugs.... perennial,cost me £1 each this was 10 years ago. Grass came back every year. In the end,we hired a turf cutter, bought meadow flower turf,laid that. I add annuals like cornflowers. Never managed to get one single rattle,and very few Flanders poppies in the end,I bought red perennial poppies. It gets cut in September,and every year we have to remove a lot of grass 
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