"Pruning" grass

My "garden" is an area of land I salvaged from being an overgrown wasteland, clogged with rubbish and laying un-used at the side of the row of cottages where I live. In resurrecting this land, I have tried to strike a balance between gardening for wildlife and experimenting with unusual plants. All along the edge of the land, beside the house wall, is a very thick stretch of grass, which during autumn and winter can look bedraggled and sad, but which in summer does look quite impressive from a "cottage garden" perspective, and undoubtedly offers refuge to much garden wildlife. Often people will advise e to chop it all back and establish a rockery or border in its place, but I can't help thinking that, as it has obviously thrived through all the years of misuse and neglect, surely it is best to trust nature and let the area run its natural course? I a wondering if it is possible, then, to treat this overgrown grass verge as one might a lawn or ornamental grass, and cut it back to the ground in the winter, for it to re-emerge in spring. But, my concern is - would doing so disrupt the natural pattern it has obviously established, and do more harm than good?

 

Not sure but I think when growing wild flower meadows etc. its normal to cut them back in autumn early winter.
Often they say wildlife prefers places that are slightly untidy, so just a cut back of any real tall stuff would work, I think, but nothing too tidy.
Just my thoughts I'm sure others know more about this than I do.

 

As said above i would cut it back, and tidy it up. Come spring i might add a packet of meadow flower seed if needed just to bulk it up a bit but definately no feeding.

 

Thanks, I particularly like the meadow flower seed suggestion. In the past when I've used them, they have rarely produced anything of much interest but its worth a try. I will post some pictures of the results.

 

Not well up on this but just scattering wild flower seed on established grassland is not likely to work well, I think.
Establishing wild flowers in grassland is not always easy, due to the fact the grass has the upperhand as it is already established, I've seen wildflower seed grown in cells.
I think you grow them on before removing some turf and planting out, just gives them a start.

 

Sow wildflower seeds into plug trays (40x standard tray) and when ready to plant them out directly into whatever's there, just skimming off the existing stuff and popping them in will give them a bit of a head start over the existing stuff.

 

Should I keep the trays in a greenhouse / cold frame etc prior to planting out?

 

Grass in general, will naturally in time form tussocks. To refrain from cutting back too far will allow wildlife to take cover during the winter period, often field mice and their relatives can be found fast asleep in a well established tussock. Get winter over and done with and then set about the grass. Tussocks can be removed or split up at the same time of course a general tidy-up.

As our friends have mentioned. Sowing of wild flower seed can be hit and miss. If you remove some tussocks then seed can be scattered on the bare patches. Don't bury the seed. Remember in nature, most wild seed is scattered by the wind, so gradually the wind will also blow the soil about. Yes, pre-sowing seed in cell trays can help. Even then. Don't bury the seed. Whetherornot cell sown seed is later potted up, well that's your choice. Yes photos as and when will be of interest. Happy gardening.

 

I sowed in spring under cover (coldframes), mainly to stop birds disturbing them, heavy rain washing them out, then planted out in the Autumn.

 

[QUOTE Tussocks can be removed or split up at the same time of course a general tidy-up.

.[/QUOTE]

I should add a photo to demonstrate the kind of grass I'm talking about and the state it is in, to see if your advice still stands and what I ought to do with it if not. It seems to be pretty dead to be honest.