Hi WoF, sounds wonderful. Not sure if I live in the countryside. Agricultural desert I think. Poppy seeds germinate after years in the ground when the soil is disturbed, (eg Flanders). Yellow rattle is parasitic (or maybe semi parasitic) on grass, won't. affect other weeds unfortiunately. I'm waiting for something that's parasitic on hogweed
I would like to introduce more native species into my garden as it is amazing to watch all the insects at work. I have recently posted a list of wildflowers that I would like to add to my garden,it is on the potting shed forum under seed swap.I will gladly swap seeds with anyone.can anybody help me?
the right time is when they're dropping naturally. The trick is to get them before you lose them. They'll germinate when they fall but not very reliably in grass. I usually transplant from pots or garden to the meadow..
I think the right day comes along for germination, all circumstances are right. Mr Bowles golden grass germinated this week from about March. Never chuck too soon.
We going to have to mow quite a bit of the meadow, winds and downpours have made a right mess of it As long as we leave a good patch of yellow rattle to seed I think everything else will come up again and perhaps flower later. A sort of chelsea chop.
hello everyone ...I'm new to this discussion but need advice about wildflower THUGS! I have a strip of land adjacent to my drive on which nothing which I have ever planted over the years will grow.....even buddleias !! I think it's because it used to be a sand/ gravel heap left by builders which was eventually levelled and then covered with a thin layer of rubbish soil. Its also subject to watershed from winter rains which presumably drowns anything with half decent roots. However I have noticed in summer I get a healthy crop of oxeye daisies , buttercups, vetches and other unspecified ' weeds'....sadly including thugs such as docks , nettles , thistles and brambles. None I of these have been planted by me.... and since weeds( wild flowers by another name ) seem to be the only residents happy to occupy that particular space I've decided to give in and go with the flow and redesignate it as an official 'wildflower strip'. The first and most pressing of my problems now is how to deal with the aforementioned thugs ( ideally without decimating existing wildflowers) and then how to keep them at bay in what they clearly regard as a des res!
Posts
Have just come back from visiting family in Cheshire. It was very hot and
the country lanes looked wonderful with banks of beautiful wild flowers and
hedges white with hawthorn. Wish I still lived in the country - it was difficult
leaving!! Still I have my wildflower garden here and it is coming along a treat
though many of the plants have yet to flower. I am amazed by the the poppies
which are growing there in places I haven't yet seeded or even raked. There
seem to be hundreds of them - how on earth do they get there? We've never had
any before - is it due to us having rotovated there? Must get some yellow rattle -
one plant I haven't yet planted and it's very useful isn't it for keeping weeds down?
I'll post some photos as soon as I have plenty of colour to show you.
Love your meadows they are beautiful!
Hi WoF, sounds wonderful. Not sure if I live in the countryside. Agricultural desert I think. Poppy seeds germinate after years in the ground when the soil is disturbed, (eg Flanders). Yellow rattle is parasitic (or maybe semi parasitic) on grass, won't. affect other weeds unfortiunately. I'm waiting for something that's parasitic on hogweed
In the sticks near Peterborough
Thanks for the info on the poppies - I hadn't realised they could lie dormant
for so long! It's good to have an explanation for their appearance!
Perhaps the GM people will come up with something WoF, though my hogweed is likely to be quite low down their list of things to do
In the sticks near Peterborough
I would like to introduce more native species into my garden as it is amazing to watch all the insects at work. I have recently posted a list of wildflowers that I would like to add to my garden,it is on the potting shed forum under seed swap.I will gladly swap seeds with anyone.can anybody help me?
I would love to exchange seeds with you, when I learn how and when to collect
them as I am a real novice at all this. I hope you will help with this one Nutcutlet
When exactly is the right time to collect wild flower seeds and will they actually
germinate where they fall? I would like to collect some and try to grow some
plants in different parts of the garden from them and it would be good to be able
to exchange some too. So any advice would be much appreciated. Will get
back to you on this one Cotty! Also I had a big surprise today. I found one of
the seed trays I discarded in a corner of the garden (the only one I hadn't
cleaned out from the seeds I sowed back in February - none of which germinated
if you remember! (Oh except 6 oxeye daisies!) Lo and behold dozens of little
tiny seeds have germinated!! Five months it's taken them - and I haven't a clue
what they are as I discarded their identity tag! Ah well - I'll just have to wait
and see!!
Hi WaF and cotty
the right time is when they're dropping naturally. The trick is to get them before you lose them. They'll germinate when they fall but not very reliably in grass. I usually transplant from pots or garden to the meadow..
I think the right day comes along for germination, all circumstances are right. Mr Bowles golden grass germinated this week from about March. Never chuck too soon.
We going to have to mow quite a bit of the meadow, winds and downpours have made a right mess of it As long as we leave a good patch of yellow rattle to seed I think everything else will come up again and perhaps flower later. A sort of chelsea chop.
I'm keeping an eye on the hellebores cotty
In the sticks near Peterborough
Thanks nut.
W a F pop over to the seed swap around Aug or September for advice and swapping.
what happens!
hello everyone ...I'm new to this discussion but need advice about wildflower THUGS! I have a strip of land adjacent to my drive on which nothing which I have ever planted over the years will grow.....even buddleias !! I think it's because it used to be a sand/ gravel heap left by builders which was eventually levelled and then covered with a thin layer of rubbish soil. Its also subject to watershed from winter rains which presumably drowns anything with half decent roots. However I have noticed in summer I get a healthy crop of oxeye daisies , buttercups, vetches and other unspecified ' weeds'....sadly including thugs such as docks , nettles , thistles and brambles. None I of these have been planted by me.... and since weeds( wild flowers by another name ) seem to be the only residents happy to occupy that particular space I've decided to give in and go with the flow and redesignate it as an official 'wildflower strip'. The first and most pressing of my problems now is how to deal with the aforementioned thugs ( ideally without decimating existing wildflowers) and then how to keep them at bay in what they clearly regard as a des res!