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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.
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