I added Yellow Rattle seeds to the wild areas of my garden last year (2021), I was getting fed up trying to keep the grass under control so the wildflowers would grow.  So I figured it was time to sow some yellow rattle to see if this could help me out.

Yellow Rattle is a semi-parasitic annual that feeds on grasses.  It's important in perennial meadows as it reduces the vigour of the grasses allowing the wildflowers to thrive.  Once Yellow Rattle is established, it will self-sow from the seeds it produces.

I know many people believe you can just throw wildflower seeds down on grass and they will grow but there is a little more to it.  Meadows are complex habitats and they have taken many years to evolve.  Although it is possible to recreate the meadow look in your garden.  Annual meadows can be used to fill bare areas in borders, along path edges or as a temporary filler until permanent plants start filling the space.  Annual wildflowers like fertile soil.  They are fairly easy to grow from seed.  They usually come into flower in June and continue right through until October.  But you will have bare earth once the flowers die and you wait for their seeds to germinate again in the following spring.

Perennial meadows prefer unimproved soil and are best used as an alternative to grass, rather than as part of a border, although I have oxeye daisies in my border which I need to thin out each year as they spread relatively quickly.  Flowering can start in late March or April and continue through to July or August.

More articles about wildlife gardening:

How To Grow Catmint
What is the difference between a cultivated wildlife friendly and a wild garden
Simple gardening tips to help you have a beautiful garden that also helps wildlife find a home they can thrive in
Eight plants to help bees through winter into spring
Oxeye daisy leucanthemum vulgare
10 of the best climbers for wildlife
Wildlife Gardening Tips
The secret to getting birds into your garden
The best flowers for bumblebees
Plants to add to your garden for caterpillars
The best flowers for honeybees
The best shrubs for butterflies
What you need to know before starting a wildlife-garden
How to attract bees to your garden
How to attract birds to your garden

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