How do I create a wildflower meadow?

It's finally raining here! What a relief. The plants in the garden and on the terraces are now starting to sprout. It's the right time to plant a wildflower meadow. A few thoughts on this. You can, of course, leave the lawn in the defined spot, stop fertilizing it and observe how it changes over time. Suitable wildflowers will find their way in nearby. If you want to anticipate the whole process and reintroduce new species or species that were once established, you can create a wildflower meadow from scratch.

It is important to know about the soil quality and to have a real wildflower seed mixture put together that is geared towards the existing conditions. For example, we did this in one of our past gardens with a mixture from wildeblumen.at that was specially adapted for our location. It is important that this mixture contains local perennials that come back every year and are supplemented by annuals.

Seed mixtures from DIY stores are completely unsuitable for a real wildflower meadow!

This is how it works:

Step one: I define the location in the garden and calculate the approximate size to know how many seeds I need.

Step two: I lift off the turf. I can use this to create a small raised bed, etc.

Step three: I determine the type of soil (loamy, sandy, humus), how dry or moist it is and how much light the location receives each day in order to compile the seed mixture.

Step four: I order a suitable seed mixture based on this information.

Step five: I apply additional sand to the topsoil to thin it out. I do this if the site was repeatedly fertilized before the wildflower meadow was planted. Wildflowers do not want a fertilized site. They are used to so-called "poor", i.e. nutrient-poor soils and need them in order to survive.

Step six: I sprinkle the seed mixture mixed with a little sand quite evenly over the surface by hand and press it down a little. As most wildflowers are so-called light germinators, they are NOT covered with soil but only pressed down so that the wind does not carry them away.

Step seven: I water them (or plant them before announced rainfall) once, then the seeds have to cope with the natural conditions

Step eight: the wildflower meadow is mowed once or twice a year, not more often!

Caution: In our experience, care must be taken to ensure that aggressive grasses do not spread too much. It is therefore important to thin out and refrain from watering. However, if a seed has been dormant in the soil and is now becoming active, this must be monitored and possibly intervened in by removing the overly aggressive species.