A colorful summer meadow can be created in different ways. On the one hand, you can convert an existing lawn, but also former vegetable or flower beds, the front garden, etc. It is only important that the soil is lean and not too moist for a meadow that is as diverse as possible with many herbs and flowers. In addition, the location should be exposed to the sun for several hours a day.
Preparation and seed procurement
Before you can start sowing, the soil must first be prepared and the desired seeds must be procured. The concrete activities for soil preparation depend on its condition and the desired type of meadow. Typically, flowers and herbs thrive on rather poor and dry soil, which is why you should lean the subsoil and, if necessary, drain it for a colorful summer flower meadow. The emaciation is done by removing the top layer of soil and replacing it with a loose soil-sand mixture. Alternatively, you can of course also choose a type of meadow that is adapted to your soil conditions (e.g. fat meadow, wet meadow, dry meadow or litter meadow).
Selection of plants and herbs
In every garden shop or garden center you can get ready-made seed mixtures. However, these contain only a few annual species, which usually do not last long. For this reason, it is better to put together a colorful mixture of seeds of different flowers and herbs yourself. Which species you choose depends on the one hand on the use of the meadow and on the other hand on the soil conditions. Typical meadow flowers include, for example
- dandelion
- Red and white meadow clover
- Meadow Bellflower
- yarrow
- cow parsley
- daisy
- pigeon scabious
- or the bright yellow meadow vetchling.
If the meadow is to be used for hay production or grazing, you can use the mixtures (e.g. for horse meadows) available in the special agricultural shop or put together the desired seeds yourself. However, it is important to note that it does not contain any plants that are poisonous to animals.
Sow and plant meadow plants
When creating the meadow, proceed as follows:
- Existing lawns are vigorously scarified.
- Fallow land is dug up and thoroughly harrowed.
- A layer of sand and soil several centimeters thick is applied to thin the soil.
- Now you can sow the seed over a large area by hand.
- Since most meadow plants germinate in the light, they should not be covered with soil, but only with a thin layer of sand.
- Keep the area moist but not wet.
- Fertilization should be avoided.
In the first year, the newly created meadow is not mowed.
tips and tricks
In contrast to a lawn, a meadow should not be walked on. For this reason, you should plan fixed paths - for example made of field or paving stones - when laying out a new meadow.
IJA