Tips For Starting a Meadow in Your Yard

The Somers Land Trust has tips for starting a meadow. 

Stop mowing, start growing!

Meadows are a terrific way to support pollinators. So don't hesitate to change your lawn, or some of it, into a meadow.

There are two ways to create a meadow from a lawn:

1. Sit back and let the grass grow

2. Plan and maintain your meadow as a flower bed.

How to start a flower meadow?

Choose the sunniest and poorest, well drained area in your yard to start a meadow. Here's some great news: the poorer the lawn, the easier it will be to convert it into a flower meadow!

If you have a dense, lush, green lawn you will need more preparation.

This can be a process of mowing, removing clippings and nutrients, and planting on the bare spots that you will see appear. Depending the species, seeding and planting is best done in the spring or in the fall.

You can also choose to remove the turf layer altogether and replant the whole surface.

Packages with plugs and seeds for meadows are available online, and our region has plenty of landscapers available to help you with the creation of a beautiful flower meadow.

Maintenance

All types of meadows need to be weeded.

This is to counter the growth of invasives and to halt natural re-forestation.

Generally, this means a combination of some mowing and hand pulling. You can also harvest and re-seed preferred species while removing the seed heads of less wanted species.

Are you giving it a try? We would love to hear from you, and see the process (send pictures if you can). We are also eager to hear about landscaping companies that offer meadow maintenance as a regular service. info@healthyyards.org

For more information on the Somers Land Trust visit their website.