Wildflower patch advice

CazzieT · May 2023

Two years ago I created a circular perennial wildflower patch, approx 20' in diameter on an area at the bottom of the garden which is very wet in winter. I used a seed mix for heavy clay soil which includes yellow rattle. Last year the patch was relatively successful with a good showing of ragged robin and dog daisies but the grass grew very tall. We aren't keen to mow the area as there are often tiny frogs in there and, having once had the fairly traumatic experience of running over one, don't want to risk that. Consequently I had to use shears to cut down the grass last year which was pretty hard work. This year I hoped to keep on top of the grass early on but the wet weather has delayed the work and the grass is already 1 to 2 feet high with quite a lot of young plants growing amongst it which suggests there is going to be a better showing than last year. Today I managed to shear about half of the patch and clear off the cuttings and will have to do the other half as soon as I can. I'd really like advice as to whether/how I can maintain this area successfully. If I cut down the grass at this stage, will it harm the plants that get caught in the shearing? And how long should I wait until I do the next full cut?
Photo shows the patch today with half of it cut.

Busy-Lizzie · May 2023

If it's a wild flower patch why cut it now? I thought they shouldn't be cut until late summer. By then the frogs should have gone somewhere damper and most the flowers will be over. If you cut it now won't you be cutting the flowers too?

Fairygirl · May 2023

This is part of the problem with trying to have a wildflower area. If you get plenty of rain, and have clay soil, the grass usually gets the upper hand. If the yellow rattle gradually gets established, it might be easier in future years though.

I can't really advise you much unfortunately, because my conditions are the same, and the only way I could do a patch [which I did a couple of years ago] was to remove the turf first. Even then, it can be difficult because the wildflowers have to be suitable, and I also have to grow them in tray or pots first rather than direct sowing. It's still clay soil, and there isn't much I can do about that in terms of it's richness.
I think the usual method is not cutting until autumn when seeds will have been dispersed, but it's difficult for you at this point because of the grass length. You may just have to go ahead and cut it, and lose wildflowers that are already growing, but it'll depend on what they are, and whether they'll naturally come away again.
If you have any more seed left, it might be a good idea to sow some in plugs/pots etc, for replacing any that don't make it.

CazzieT · May 2023

Thanks for both your comments. It's absolutely the case that the grass gets too long and lush and becomes very difficult to cut whether by mower of hand. It reached 3 feet last year. The cuttings also have to be raked away to prevent nourishing the soil which is similarly laborious. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you look at it), frogs are there all year as the surrounding area is all damp so harming them is a real issue, less so if the grass is kept mown when they are more visible. I think I'll have to see what happens to the plants after I've cut the area back this time and decide whether it's worth continuing in this format.

McRazz · May 2023

Unfortunately you missed your spring mow, which should have been carried out in March. Best advice would be to give it a high level cut now.

Also, your conscientiousness isn't necessarily compatible with the strict maintenance regime that a wildflower meadow requires - It will need mowing in March and September...if frogs are an issue for you then perhaps its worth considering a scythe.

It also looks quite nutrient rich. If you're serious then perhaps you need to mow the area hard throughout the year (removing arisings!) and start again with a full strip of the grass to bare soil this september. I'd also consider a mixture of clay and wetland species to work with rather than against the damp conditions you describe.

CazzieT · May 2023

Thanks for your comment. The weather in March hindered my hopes of getting an early start on the cutting. A scythe has certainly been in my sights as it might be quicker than using shears so thanks for the suggestion. Looking at the seed catalogue, I see that I bought a 'meadow mixture for wetlands' which seemed the most appropriate type on offer at the time. I wouldn't say the ground is actually clay but is at the bottom of a hill beside a stream and collects the run-off from the surrounding land. This makes it heavily waterlogged in winter and impossible to grow much else other than grass so this was an attempt to make a bit of a feature of this area, having spent a lot of time and energy creating a bog garden nearby. The alternative would be just to let it go to grass in the summer and keep it mown which wouldn't be very interesting to wildlife or to me!

nutcutlet · May 2023

there are different meadows with different regimes, Spring meadows don't get a spring mow. If you want Yellow Rattle a Spring mow needs to be very early. Later flowering perennials do well with a spring mow, Meadow Geraniums, Knapweeds, Scabious. But then you lose a lot of the best grass heads.

Meadows are not the easy option.

CazzieT · May 2023

They're certainly not easy but I'll keep persevering, thanks.

CazzieT · December 2023

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm almost beaten now. Deer barge through that area, munching anything they like and the moles are all over that spot so there are huge hills of soil, making it difficult to cut the grass at any time and it's just a bog at the moment with all the rain. I already have a bog garden so don't need another one! I'll see how things look in the spring but it might just be back to leaving Nature to do her own thing and cutting back when I can regardless.

McRazz · December 2023

Deer are a huge problem Cazzie and are second only to humans in their destructiveness of our native habitats due to uncontrolled populations. Many of the woodlands near me are like deserts with only mature trees standing bare amongst an obliterated/non existent understory. This is why people go mad for bluebells in the spring, because our woodlands have been so stripped of everything else that in many areas they are the only point of interest throughout the year. Not to mention the damage they do to managed gardens.

There'll be something that will work in that area, it just may take a little time to find out what that might be. Meadowsweet does well in boggy areas, Fritillaries too.

CazzieT · December 2023

Thanks for the encouragement - I do have fritillaries down there but they haven't done very well, nor have camassia which are supposed to like wet ground. The deer I can't do much about - shrubs are hard to protect so I have concentrated on the stems of young trees. I try to identify the plants they don't like and stick to those. The wildflower garden was a nice idea but I suspect there are too many obstacles to it being a raging success!

Wildflower patch advice

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