How to make a perennial flower meadow (in a small space) - part 3

[@fibber2u]

My wildflower garden has had 33 plant species flower so far this year and will exceed 50 before the end of the year. The target is a hundred self sustaining species in less than 80 square yards. You have to proactively put the stuff in and do some species management though during set up. It is a woodland and margin garden. Remember the aim is flowering NOT PRETTY FLOWERING, moss, docks, nettles and grass (seven species of grass last year) etc count. I started with raked bare earth and 5 species in the garden 2 summers ago. The flashy brigade eg tulips and forget-me-nots help with the mow-the-weed-patch tidy minds. The plants are just the indicator species you want a lot more than just them. One of the plants to add several specimens of this season is ragwort because I'm after the cinnabar moth also as an addition; who knows that may attract a cuckoo. However I’d settle for a song thrush nesting in the sycamore leaf-bowl that I am protecting. One song thrush in five years! When I was a boy they were so common in gardens.

[@floragarveygardening1864]

That sounds completely brilliant, and you are one of the few doing it for genuine biodiversity, not just prettiness. Happily I think wildflower meadows are both! Good luck to you..

[@helenamcginty4920]

From your introduction I would not call your meadow small. 15 ft x 15ft was my back garden. Same size as everyone elses round where I lived. Except the 2 up 2 down terraces of course. Their back yards were smaller 😂