There will be a much bigger seed bank there that may have been on that piece of land for hundreds of years. In a new piece of garden, where you are introducing new seed, they will probably need more help to get started and properly establish. Even then, you will probably find that some types in the mix will be happiest, stay around and self seed into the future, where others disappear over time. To give the best chance, it's good to follow all the of the steps - knocking back grass or removing, scarifying, treading in your seed to establish good contact and constant watering. Slugs and snails can also do a lot of damage to sprouts and that may be part of the reason certain plants don't mature. Getting on top of the mollusc problems will help.
As many people on the forum have found, getting a wild flower meadow to really establish - large or small - can be much trickier than it looks on TV. They say "just sprinkle seed and 'bingo'!" (they said that on the BBC Chelsea show a few days ago). It's rubbish in my opinion and gives entirely the wrong impression of gardening is and how seeds work. Wildflower seed needs just as much care and ongoing careful attention as any other type of seed to get a good result. That is certainly what I have found from my experience.
I know what you mean, I've never yet had a result by just scattering, I watered and encouraged all my 'red poppy' seedlings last year and then the leaves formed, and I had to weed the lot! 😄 When they do new road verges, they just throw vast amounts of seed around - maybe it'll take 50 packs of seed to get 20 plants. I might just have a go at that instead.
I planted my seedlings in a scrape in the front lawn, they're not growing fast, but they're growing! Unlike my poppies and cornflowers, which didn't get started at all. And then you get road builders who just heavily overseed the banks, and it works beautifully! Even the council do better than me with their verges! 😫😄
Willowherb and Himalayan Balsam seem to be the only things that grow anywhere and everywhere come rain or shine, shadow or sun.
I know what you mean, I've never yet had a result by just scattering, I watered and encouraged all my 'red poppy' seedlings last year and then the leaves formed, and I had to weed the lot! 😄 When they do new road verges, they just throw vast amounts of seed around - maybe it'll take 50 packs of seed to get 20 plants. I might just have a go at that instead.
LOL. One wonders if plug plants might be a better idea than that amount of seeds.
As many people on the forum have found, getting a wild flower meadow to really establish - large or small - can be much trickier than it looks on TV. They say "just sprinkle seed and 'bingo'!" (they said that on the BBC Chelsea show a few days ago). It's rubbish in my opinion and gives entirely the wrong impression of gardening is and how seeds work. Wildflower seed needs just as much care and ongoing careful attention as any other type of seed to get a good result. That is certainly what I have found from my experience.
Indeed. It seems that one cannot believe anything they see on TV/internet.
There are accounts of people supposedly chucking seeds down in post-winter and having a blooming "meadow" in July-August. Hmmmmm.
Edit: Actually just did a quick video search - check this one out . . .Weeding, soil prep, sowing and blooming Jan 2021-June 2021 (so basically in less than 6 months).
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When they do new road verges, they just throw vast amounts of seed around - maybe it'll take 50 packs of seed to get 20 plants. I might just have a go at that instead.
I must have a 0.5% success rate with seeds.
There are accounts of people supposedly chucking seeds down in post-winter and having a blooming "meadow" in July-August. Hmmmmm.
Edit: Actually just did a quick video search - check this one out . . .Weeding, soil prep, sowing and blooming Jan 2021-June 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2_IubOsInM
Some of those seed packs look familiar too . . . . Haha. Grrrrrrr!