preparation and aftercare of wild flower meadows and other native plant habitats

This is a very abbreviated guide, intended only to give a broad introduction. Please refer to our resources section for further reading or listen here to Steve Morton of Herbiseed, describing how to start a small meadow in a garden. We've also written a couple of blogs about making meadows.
We run courses on meadow creation and management and offer design and ecological survey services.

Initial Decisions
Before starting work on your meadow you need to answer some questions :
Do I want to buy plugs or seed ? Plug plants are a good way of quickly establishing wildflowers, particularly in small sites, can be planted in winter, and can be planted in existing sward if conditions are right. However, they are relatively expensive and do not include grasses; Listen here to Steve Morton's thoughts.
Am I planting an area which is currently grassed over ? If it is, you have several options. If the sward is not too thick you can cut it short and try other methods like using a chain harrow or raking it aggressively to open it up. Then plant plugs, or try sowing Yellow Rattle in the first year (see below) and then a perennial mix in the second. We've done exactly this ourselves in an area with interesting grasses we didn't want to lose. A quicker option, however, is to kill the existing sward with herbicide and start again.
Do I want flowers in the first year ? If you do, use a nurse of cornfield annuals. They will help the perennials in a meadow mix get going and keep the grasses on the back foot, so you won't have to keep the sward mown throughout year one.

Preparation
Fertile soils, or soils treated with fertilizers, will make for poor establishment of a meadow. For one thing, they will have concentrations of pernicious weeds like Dock and Nettle. You will have to scrape the topsoil off if the soil is too rich, so think carefully before you do !
Kill off the existing weed cover and grasses. This may take repeat applications of herbicide if you have troublesome perennial weeds. It is possible to sow into existing grass, but we would recommend avoiding it unless the existing grass is really worth keeping. In this case, either use plugs or sow in the autumn or winter, having cut the existing sward as low as possible and using a good dose of Yellow Rattle (see below). One of our suppliers, Emorsgate Seeds, have a helpful video.
Next harrow or hoe the top inch of soil (we left the pigs on it) and rake or roll it.
Chose a mixture to suit your purpose and site, and sow it according to the supplier's recommendation. If conditions are difficult you can increase the recommended rate. Sow in the spring, or preferably autumn, but make sure the soil is wet. Bulk the seeds with an inert carrier (e.g.sand), sow in two directions, and roll lightly.
We sell the annual Yellow Rattle as an individual species due to its usefulness as partial parasite, suppressing surrounding grass growth and hence allowing flowers a better chance to get established. Listen hear for a guide. It can also be sensible to over-sow with a "nurse" of cornfield annuals, which will suppress annual weed growth.

Management
Meadows
If you don't use a nurse, the meadow mixture will need tight grazing or mowing in its first year to suppress annual weeds and grasses. Spot spray perennial weeds with a selective herbicide or hand weed - the Hori hori knife is the best hand weeding tool. After its first summer, unless it has an annual "nurse" (see above) it is sensible to over sow with Yellow Rattle.
Thereafter the meadow mixture is best managed by taking a hay cut between mid July and early September and removing the hay after 3 to 7 days once dried. This is later than would have been done historically for hay, but enables plants to flower; the later the cut the more stalky the hay it produces but the better the result for wildflowers, although there is a chance that a late flowering species like Knapweed might take over. Jenny Steel recommends cutting in early September, which means late flowering species have a chance to seed. We are now cutting our meadow by scythe which seems the right thing to do and avoids doing too much harm to the fauna, but it could of course be done mechanically. Richard Brown of Emorsgate Seeds makes it look easy in this demonstration video.
After a few weeks allow livestock in to graze the "aftermath", or mow it yourself, remembering to remove the clippings. It can be mown or grazed on and off until the end of March, preferably by sheep, who do the neatest job. By removing the hay and grazing or mowing ( remembering to collect the cuttings if possible) the aftermath you are reducing the fertility of the soil further and opening the sward for next season's flowers.
Cornfield annuals need their soil to be disturbed in the autumn so that their seed will fall to bare ground and they will repeat.

Wetland and Pond Margins
There is little management required. If you need to remove vegetation to encourage diversity, work in the autumn to avoid disruption to wildlife.

Woodlands and Hedgerows
Weed control is the biggest problem, as it is impossible to use herbicides. They can be weeded on small sites, or mown and cut back. If you have persistent problems, soil fertility will be a problem anyway.
Remember it takes a while for a woodland mixture to establish, growing slower in shade. Some species (eg Bluebell] take several years to germinate.
If you sow with new trees, manage as you would a meadow until the canopy closes in.

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