Creating a "woodland meadow" in garden?

Hi.

This area is mostly under large trees, so in shade a lot of the day. Ground is all grassy (it was left to overgrow in the nature friendly part of the garden).
It just looks like a mess though and would rather have some colour in the wild part . . .

So, what is the best way to create some kind of woodland flower meadow? I take it it will be a bit more difficult than just sprinkling those seed mixes?

I did read somewhere that you can sow one particular wildflower and it supposedly will attach itself to the grass roots and kill them off. But I forgot the name of it.

Any ideas what I can do? Some of it will extend from under the trees so will get more daylight (sun).

Also, would one recommend particular types of flowers - as in - often if you get a wildflower mix you do not really know what is growing where and might mistake them for weeds?

Here is the photo of the type of ground (it was mowed lawn a few years back).

Any ideas welcome . . .thanks.

 

Ive got a small area under trees that I have slowly been covering with wood chippings mostly from my own prunings and loppings of the trees.

It's pretty much killed off any grass that used to grow there now .

Recent years I've been planting clumps of polyanthus and the likes here and there along with blubells.

It looks pretty dead this time of year, more of an early spring and summer thing.

 

Your areas under trees sound like maybe a good place to grow primroses and polyanthus? I grew some and though their flowers are beautiful in spring, they make too many leaves afterwards and I am constantly cutting back their leaves both during flowering and afterwards. Their big, messy leaves that take over other plants are making me wonder whether to just eradicate them altogether from my garden, which would be a pity.

Maybe under a tree they would form less leaves, and flowers in spring?

I feel the same about spring bulbs, really beautiful when they flower but their leaves take months to die back, and I don't have any space to move them to so they are out of the way of other plants. I think I will only grow Cyclamen for spring flowering, as it flowers all winter and all spring, its leaves aren't messy, its leaves are attractive, and the leaves do die back during summer. Cyclamen likes shade, which is another advantage. Violas and Violets like shade too, and apparently Violas can flower all winter. Violets are supposed to flower in spring, I only recently planted some so will have to see. I will probably only grow spring bulbs in small pots that can be moved out of the way, or shared with something happy to be cut back in autumn such as Feverfew, which then grows back as the spring bulbs' leaves die off.

I did read that Violets can take over your garden with their underground root systems. But that is an advantage in that they would be more drought proof. And they are happy under the shade of a tree, as are Cyclamen.

 

Yellow Rattle.

If you don't feed the grass, it will gradually become less vigorous all on its own, but yellow rattle is the flower usually recommended in this context.

I'd also scatter some mixed clover seeds. Crimson clover is gorgeous but I've found it a bit harder to establish than the native clovers.

 

@Weedstoo
I have an area like yours and I planted snowdrops, Anemone blanda and A nemorosa, Narcissus bulbocodium, Autumn and Spring crocus, Fritillaria melagris, Primula, Arum maculatum and A italicum over the years these have spread and give a good display; I wait until the leaves have died down before cutting the grass. The grass grows poorly enough not to need to yellow rattle to slow it down.
Later in the year I have Iris foetidissima, Dianella tasmanica a number of self seeding geraniums, Reineckea carnea (Japanese woodlander spread gradually) and several ground cover Rubus and a few ferns recently added. Also a couple of hydrangeas and Japanese anemones.
To some extent it depends on where you are in the UK most years I benefit from plenty of rain and decent humidity.
Over the years cyclamen have spread in from elsewhere and the anemone, crocuse and snowdrops are wandering out.
The trees are a combination of Norwegian spruce and American red oak.

 

How long is your flowering season?

Everything in the garden has died off now - apart from the Rose bush.

 

Yellow Rattle - that was the one. Though I am unsure how it is supposed to work. Like do I have to sow the yellow rattle and wait an entire year before sowing the other flowers? Or kind of bung that in with the other seeds?

 

I've never grown it. My lawn naturally has clover and daisies in it. And I let the dandelions flower in spring. I haven't done anything special, I just don't feed the lawn very often so the other stuff has a fair chance. I've seen yellow rattle elsewhere where the grass is much stronger, presumably down in an effort to establish a wildflower meadow. I've seen a lot of meadow mixes that contain yellow rattle along with other flowers and wild grasses so I presume from that you don't have to wait, because you'd have a job picking out all of a particular type of seed from a mix

 

@Weedstoo

The spring with the snowdrops, crocuses, primulas and anemones is the most floriferous season. However there is generally something of interest.
Some of the geraniums are still flowering, a couple of flowers are emerging on the Japanese anemone. The Dianella has iridescent blue berries at the moment

and there are red drumstick seed heads on the arums. In October the Autumn Crocus will be flowering, the Iris foetidissima seed heads will be splitting to show the bright orange seeds and the silvery marked foliage of the Arum italicum will be emerging. The Rubus are mainly grown for the colour and texture of the foliage as are the Reineckea.
This year a lot of things have struggled with the heat and dryness. I may have lost a couple of things not fully established and others will take a couple of "normal" years to recover.

 

Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) is a hemiparasite of many grasses. It takes nutrients from the roots of the grass so weakening the grass and making it easier for wildflowers to grow. It is an annual, but should self seed. I'm not sure how it will do in a shady habitat.
The grass under my trees has never grown strongly and even in a "normal" year only needs cutting a few times between April and October. Which bits get cut, when depends on flowering times and the state of the foliage. The area only gets one or maybe two all over cuts a year. If an area has little grass growth or green foliage it doesn't get cut. The Iris foetidissma, self seeded geraniums and arums are liable to a cut if getting out of hand, they generally survive.

 

I presume I should NOT use any kind of pesticides to kill the grass off?

Not sure if it really shows in the photo but there are loads of deep grassy roots in the area.

 

I now spot kill weeds with glyphosate in spring.
Most years mine is too shady for much to grow in the summer.

 

@Weedstoo
Mine have gone in mainly as plants and bulbs, the primroses, Fritillaria, geraniums, Anemone and possibly crocuses self seed through the grass and moss without a problem.
It would help if you filled in your location on the Personal Details page as that gives people at least a general idea of climate and so forth.

 

Hello. I was looking for some ideas on creating a meadow/wild flower area under my apple trees. Early this spring we tilled the area and raked out lots of grass and moss and planted some wild flower seeds but it doesn’t look like anything came up! Before doing this we have had a very big haircut on our fruit trees which is allowing more lighting and rainwater. It has quite a lot of sun during the day now. I was wondering about planting some bulbs like. Camassia, irises, those fine gladiolus ( can’t remember what they’re called. Does anyone know if these are strong enough to come up through grass? I live on the Salisbury plain and see beautiful wild flowers. I took some pictures and I wonder if anyone knows what they are and if one can buy them. Also, How did you get on with your meadow. I have a feeling it’s one of those things that take a while to get going.

 

You have orchids in your pix [the 1st one and the other pinky/violet one] and also a geranium in the last pic. I don't know the others.
The problem with Camassis is that they need soil that doesn't dry out for long periods, so that may not be viable under trees and in sun. Bearded iris need sun and good drainage, so in theory they might be ok, but they won't work if it's grassy.
There are various types of gladioli - do you mean the perennial ones like G. b. communis? Again, I don't know if they'd work if there's still grass.
This one
https://www.garthwaitenurseries.com...bscorms-magenta-coloured-perennial-7768-p.asp

Hardy geraniums would certainly work but you'd need to prep the soil, and be prepared for some failures. If you have some pix of your site, that will help with ideas. It's not easy to create an area by sowing direct unless the site is really suitable first, and you choose suitable types of plant, and then you have to wait....
It's often easier to buy plug plants, or sow seed and grow them on until you have individual plants to put in. Plants which naturally appear do so because they've seeded in and are already adapted to the conditions they have