{"id":10382,"date":"2020-02-04T03:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T17:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardens.theownerbuildernetwork.co\/?p=10382"},"modified":"2025-10-30T21:17:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T11:17:10","slug":"why-and-how-you-should-start-a-mini-meadow-in-your-backyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/2020\/02\/04\/why-and-how-you-should-start-a-mini-meadow-in-your-backyard\/","title":{"rendered":"Why and How You Should Start a Mini-Meadow in Your Backyard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cNothing\nis so beautiful as Spring,\u201d wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins, \u201cWhen weeds, in\nwheels, shoot long and lovely and lush.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not many\nof today\u2019s gardeners could wax lyrical over a wildflower meadow as did Hopkins.\nThey generally don\u2019t pay attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"
Not many of today\u2019s gardeners could wax lyrical over a wildflower meadow as did the poet, Gerald Manley Hopkins. They generally don\u2019t pay attention. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Closely shorn grass lawns first emerged in 17th century England at the homes of large, wealthy landowners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have since become an obsession throughout suburbia. People today have become obsessed with the perfectly manicured turf, suspiciously green even during months when it\u2019s supposed to be brown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In such settings, Hopkins\u2019 wildflowers are weeds – unwelcome invaders in an otherwise ideal landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Closely
Closely shorn grass lawns first emerged in 17th century England at the homes of large, wealthy landowners. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Mini-Meadow Movement <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But the little random blooms that grow on roadsides and abandoned yards have their own following \u2013 and it is growing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The so-called \u201canti-lawn movement\u201d has been around now for several decades. In that time, thousands of American families have dug up their lawns and put in vegetable gardens and wildflowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"
Thousands of American families have dug up their lawns and put in vegetable gardens and wildflowers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\nmovement has recently gained fresh momentum as more homeowners have begun to\nencourage the backwoods into their gardens in the form of mini-meadows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A mini-meadow is essentially an area that gardeners have restored to the charge of nature. In these small plots, woodland violets, spring beauties, daisy fleabanes, and dandelions take precedence over Kentucky bluegrass and Zoysia. And for good reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A mini-meadow is essentially an area that gardeners have restored to the charge of nature. (Photo: Val Pollard\/Geograph UK) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vanishing Wildlife<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next time you take your dog out on a walk, take a mental census of the wildlife in the yards you pass. What you\u2019ll soon find is that the pristine lawns have almost no insects. There are no ladybugs, bees, or butterflies. No beetles, no grasshoppers, or spiders in the grass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where there are no insects, there are also no frogs and songbirds. Some 96 percent of the world\u2019s songbirds rely on insects to feed their young. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Some
Some 96 percent of the world\u2019s songbirds rely on insects to feed their young.
(Photo: Thomas Wilken\/Pixabay) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why You\nShould Grow a Mini-Meadow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The\nreason for the absence is of insects and other wildlife is simple. Instead of\nweeding, many gardeners choose to use chemicals to keep wildflowers off their\nlawns. They kill the ones that do manage to germinate with even more chemicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChemicals\u201d\nhere is another word for \u201cpoison,\u201d and they kill wildlife as effectively as they\nkill weeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bees are especially\nimperiled. A recent study has linked glyphosate – the active ingredient in the\nweed-killer, Roundup – to disease and death in bees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A recent study has linked glyphosate – the active ingredient in the weed-killer, Roundup – to disease and death in bees. (Photo: Mike Mozart\/Flickr) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wildflowers\narrive, through no effort at all, to feed the bees and the butterflies.  Anybody who pays attention would see the\nimportance of the role they play in the ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bees pollinate 70 percent of the plants that provide nearly all of the world\u2019s nutrition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are growing vegetables in your backyard, then you\u2019ll need pollinators to produce a harvest. You also need them to cross-pollinate the flowers you\u2019ve worked so hard to bring to bloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bees
Bees pollinate 70 percent of the plants that provide nearly all of the world\u2019s nutrition. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to\nGrow a Wildflower Mini-Meadow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I Give the lawnmower a rest. Conscious disregard will transform that corner into a thriving mini-meadow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\ncomes up from the patch of untended ground depends on where you live. You can\nnever really know what to expect, and that is part of the pleasure of the\nproject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"If
If you want to grow wildflowers in your garden, simply leave a patch of lawn untended during spring and summer. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Left\nalone, your turf is likely to produce pretty little daisies, clovers, and\nbuttercups. But you can also get wild orange lilies, chickweed, and partridge\nberries. If you live in Australia, you may expect crimson myrtle, lovely tufts\nof smokebush, and glorious mountain bell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"If
If you live in Australia, you may expect crimson myrtle, lovely tufts of smokebush, and glorious mountain bell. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meadow\nMaintenance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once your\nmeadow has established itself, you\u2019ll need to follow a schedule of cutting. If\nyou have managed to grow a lush patch of mini-meadow, cut it back to a height\nof 3 inches in the spring.  You should\ncomplete the cutting no later than the end of April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main\nsummer cut should remove much of the material. Be sure to collect all the\ncuttings for compost. If you don\u2019t, the rotting debris will fertilize the\nground and encourage tough grasses at the wildflowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Once
Once your meadow has established itself, you\u2019ll need to follow a schedule of cutting. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You\nshould cut sometime between late June and the end of August. An earlier cutting\nfavors cowslips, fritillary, bugle, and lady’s smock, among others. Cutting in\nAugust will coax summer flowers such as knapweed, devil’s bit scabious, and\nlady’s bedstraw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\nuse a hand scythe or a strimmer for smaller areas. If you plan to devote a\nlarge area to wildflowers and native grass, then a lawnmower would be your best\nbet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"You
You can use a hand scythe or a strimmer for smaller areas. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your mini-meadow doesn’t require any additional watering. Too much water could alter the natural balance of plants in the area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many native types of grasses have adapted to tough environments. The additional water will only encourage excessive growth. This will consequently crowd out the more desirable flowering plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"our
our mini-meadow doesn’t require any additional watering. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More Than\nJust Beauty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was not so long ago when our practical ideas about how to achieve the beautiful were limited to smooth, velvety lawns and foreign grasses and shrubbery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re paying the price for the boundaries of our imagination now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mini-meadows are about a lot more than just beauty.  Wildflowers are beautiful, of course, and there\u2019s a real-world benefit to them, as well. Reducing water consumption and the frequency of mowing saves us money, after all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the significance of beauty and cost-cutting can’t compete with the earnest effort to rescue the environment and make our backyards welcoming to wildlife again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A mini-meadow is essentially an area that gardeners have restored to the charge of nature. In these small plots, woodland violets, spring beauties, daisy fleabanes, and dandelions take precedence over Kentucky bluegrass and Zoysia. And for good reason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13557,"featured_media":10388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Transform your lawn into a thriving mini-meadow with wildflowers. Easy, eco-friendly, and low-maintenance\u2014discover how to start today.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sma_last_campaign_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[274,180,99,28,182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flowers","category-gardening-with-nature","category-lawn-care","category-pest-and-weed-control","category-tips-and-tricks"],"modified_by":"Freddie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13557"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}