How to create your own Riverhill Inspired Wild Flower Patch...
Our wildflower beds in 2024
Our beautiful wildflower beds, at the entrance to Riverhill, were the surprise hit of our 2024 season. Initially designed to be a temporary solution, whilst the beds recovered and Misako devised a more permanent scheme, they brought our visitors so much joy that they will be coming back this year (And I am currently lobbying hard for 2026).
We thought that the company we got the seeds from were so great that we are now stocking the seed mix in our shop. They are called Pictorial Meadows and have created natural, spectacular planting for, among others, the Tower of London and the Olympic park.
If you would like to have a go yourself, you can pick up a packet next time you are in the Gardens and now, until May, is the perfect time to sow your seeds. Here is some advice and tips from our Head Gardener, Misako, incase, like me, you are not an expert gardener…..
Start by selecting a suitable patch, it needs to have full sun. You don’t need a large area. If you have gaps in an existing herbaceous border then scattering some seeds can be a really effective, and cheap, way to fill in gaps and also keep weeds at bay. Make sure that the soil is clear of grass and weeds.
Before sowing, make sure the soil is warm and moist. If the soil is too cold then germination will take longer to occur, meaning the seeds stay on the surface longer and are more likely to get munched by birds.
Once the soil is ready, scatter your seeds and then rake over. If your soil structure is stable you can stamp the seeds in with your feet. It is important for germination that the seeds are in contact with the soil. Next, soak with water once and leave. Germination should take place within seven to ten days and then you can expect blooms to start appearing within two months.
The pictorial Meadows blend is designed to give you a range of early and later bloomers, so you will have flowers until September time. If you feel like the blooms are getting too tall or out of control you can cut them back mid way through, this is not essential though.
At the end of the season you can leave the stalks to go brown, this will give you more seeds for the next year. Or you can rip it all out and start again.
Misako sowed the beds here on Monday, so I decided to do the same in a small area I have made at the end of my garden.
Why not have a go too? Pick up a packet next time you are in the gardens and make the bees, and yourselves, very happy!