re to lawn or not to lawn

jimmy mac · Rank attained: Hawthorn Tree Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 82

Can i throw a general question out there for opinions from all .At the end of my gardes i have ploughed and tilled 3/4 acre which is now a brown tilth but the weeds will start to show soon.I am undecided on whether to sow lawn or !!! this is where i need help ,I would like to hear opinions from anyone on other options.I would love tro get some maintenance free colour for this section.Alas at the minute cost is also a factor.However the last thing i want is for these weeds to grow and take over again. Question

I had athought myself that bluebells would be nice as they seem to grow god in the woods.However i really dont know how to go about it.I have heard of wild grasses but colour is of the most importance .Any takers!!!!!!!!!

jimmy mac · Rank attained: Hawthorn Tree Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 82

Sorry folks i put that into the wrong section Embarassed

Liparis · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 7:49 pm Post subject:

you could sow grass with a good mix of wild flowers in it. Just don't go cutting the grass bfore the flowers have flowered and if possible allow them to set seed befor cutting. Depends if you want someting formal or informal which would encourage the wildlife. A statregically placed tree here and there would break up the monotony, using native trees would assist with shading for the wildlife and many will provide valuable flowers for nectar.
Bill.

Garlicbreath · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:44 pm Post subject:

This site http://www.wildflowers.ie/ sells seed mixes of native wildflowers for meadows, etc. Could be what you need. They will advise on the best mix for your site.

Sive · Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 8:09 am Post subject:

Thanks for that website, garlicbreath, I've just been browsing it and I wish I'd done my homework before we grassed our acre 2 years ago !
I have planted quite a few trees this spring and have killed off the grass in that area, and now am really excited at the idea of sowing wildflowers there.
Thanks for the inspiration!

jimmy mac · Rank attained: Hawthorn Tree Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 82

Many Thanks for that folks i will research that link .

Sean Ph'lib · Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 11:22 pm Post subject:

Planting a wild-flower meadow is a great idea. If it was me, I'd turn it into an orchard, but I'm an apple-tree nut. Laughing

After that, I would go for the meadow. Also, if you do go for the meadow, don't spread any kind of fertilizer on it - or you'll end up with thick grass and no flowers!

brian.shaugh · Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:21 am Post subject:

Aldi or Lidl I can't remember which had wild flower seed for sale in the last week or so, I got some from there. If you broadcast some grass seed and let while flowers come naturally it is amazing how much colour you would get - just weed lick it down every 2-3 months and keep things like docs under control.

Sive · Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 4:18 pm Post subject:

If you read the advice on www.wildflowers.ie, they strongly recommend using native wildflower seed, not imported, and I think that sounds like very sound advice......so Maybe Lidl is not the solution.