Low-maintenance flowers for grassland

Low Maintenance Flowers for Grassland

We use grassland as a low-maintenance area for naturalising bulbs and providing us with cut flowers throughout spring. Poor, chalky soil with thin grass produces lots of wild flowers and is easier to work than our thick rye grass, which requires some preparation to help bulbs thrive. To do so we scrape patches of grass and sow into them yellow rattle, which acts as a parasite and, over time, weakens the tough grass, allowing bulbs to grow.

We plant snowdrops, crocuses and several types of narcissus that flower in succession in early March, April and May. Camassia is an excellent bulb for naturalising and it competes successfully with tall grasses, particularly in moist areas. Fritillaria grows particularly well in moist areas; we plant it alongside perennial tulips.

We also use several types of roses that are suitable for grassland. Among the best are Rosa 'Complicata', Rosa 'Nevada' and Rosa 'Dupontii'. We plant these as bare root plants and within two years they should develop into huge, cascading shrubs.

Our Advice:

• Observe your grassland before deciding to augment it with other plants, and let grow whatever is there already. Adding a few primroses might be all your grassland area needs.
• If your grassland produces cow parsley, gather the seeds at the end of the season and spread them loosely around the area. Other lovely recommended wild plants are Cephalaria gigantea (common name: giant scabious), Valeriana officinalis and Yarrow.
• Cut down the meadow at the end of August to allow autumn crocuses to develop, and mow it down again in late autumn.
• Our recommended narcissus varieties that flower in succession are Narcissus 'Tete-a-Tete', Narcissus 'Actaea' and Narcissus poeticus.

Plant Directory

Anthriscus sylvestris

common name: cow parsley

Camassia quamash

common name: camas

Cephalaria gigantea

common name: giant scabious

Crocus

common name: crocus

Fritillaria

common name: fritillary

Galanthus

common name: snowdrop

Narcissus

common names: narcissus, daffodil, jonquil

Primula vulgaris

common name: primrose

Rhinanthus minor

common name: yellow rattle

Rosa

common name: rose

Varieties -

'Complicata'

'Nevada'

'Dupontii'

Tulipa

common name: tulip

Valeriana officinalis

common name: valerian