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Earlier in the year, we were invited to get involved with a mason bee project as an offshoot of Operation Pollinator. We knew that these amazing insects were incredibly important for our wildflower turf pollination but as we started to find out more about them we felt compelled to share all that we have learnt about the busiest of bees and encourage you to get involved. Without insect pollination, there will be a serious decline in the production of the fruit and vegetables we eat. As well as crops, most wild plants also require insect pollination.
Bees and other pollinators are known to be in decline and whilst no single factor is to blame the loss of habitat is key to their survival. Our mason bee hotel project is certainly going to help our wildflower turf flourish.
FIVE FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT THE MASON BEE
1. Mason bees live solitary lives. All females are able to lay eggs. Once the male bees have mated they then die. Mason bees do not create honey or wax and consequently are very docile. They…

The timing for cutting a wildflower meadow is always a bit of a dilemma, and an often asked question. In my opinion there are pros and cons to cutting early or late.
Leaving the meadow long is a very good idea as a habitat for wildlife. It provides shelter and a good source of food for all sorts of animals and insects. It can also be a picturesque scene with some late species flowering (Common Toadflax seems prolific this year as a late flowerer) and crisp frosty mornings making it look lovely.
But you have to weigh that up against the long term health of the wildflower meadow. To maintain species diversity, it is important that fertility is kept reasonably low, and the best way to do this is to cut and remove the cutting in the area. The longer you leave this the less fertility you remove because as the plant material breaks down in the autumn/early winter it falls to the soil and acts as a fertiliser (albeit a very light dose). So although you may still cut and remove the area late in the winter you will inevitably be removing less material as it will be impossible to pick up…

James recently visited the Athletes Village to view our established Wildflower Turf and an area we recently supplied, of bespoke grown, shade tolerant Wildflower Turf that was being installed by Gavin Jones Ltd. The laying was nearly finished and looked good in a creative design around the trees on the Stratford Hill area.

Outside the Village site next to Stratford International Train Station, our turf was also used on an area next to some seeding. The contrast is clear and reinforces the value of using the turf compared to seeding – The turf is risk free and instant and it WORKS! These photos tell the story and speak for themselves!

After attending our accreditation program last Spring, Colin has used our Wildflower Turf a number of times, and continues to get fantastic feedback from his clients.
Here are some before and after pictures from a very satisfied customer site. This is typically what the turf will look like on arrival and installation.

And this is how it looked this Summer! What a transformation!

This is a typical example of what to expect, and how quickly the turf gets established.
You can find a list of our accredited installers here.
 

Due to the recent hot and sunny spells, a lot of people are thinking about what to do with their Wildflower meadows.

Our advice has always been to cut with a strimmer and remove the cuttings with a rake and then use the highest setting on your lawn mower and remove via the collector on the back.
This should be carried out in the autumn, ideally after the plants have set and shed their seed. Not only does this tidy up the area for the winter but it stops the senesced summer growth from covering the growing plant in a layer of rotting plant material. o

An open sward over the winter ensures healthy, disease free plants which can benefit from what light is available to them during these months. As the spring approaches the wildflowers and grasses are in the perfect position to develop flowers and seed heads quickly to repeat their perennial cycle thus guaranteeing a wildflower meadow year after year.

Reports of a nationwide shortage of Wildflower Turf are simply not true.

The team here at Wildflower Turf have been working tirelessly, to ensure our customers can get their Wildflower Meadow, when they want it.

Excellent production management and planning, have minimised any negative impact the English weather has caused.

We currently have in the region of 25,000m² available of Wildflower Turf.

https://wildflowerturf.co.uk – 01256 771222
 

A most happy customer has had installed around 100m² of Wildflower Border Turf and 130m² Wildflower Landscape Turf on their site at a donkey sanctuary near Bristol.

They are very happy with the results, saying “As we live on the main A38 and have a number of donkeys it seems donkeys and wild flowers are a great attraction and I
am inundated with people saying they have never seen wild flower turf before where did I get it!”
https://wildflowerturf.co.uk or 01256 771222.

 
 
 

A recent very happy customer sent me these wonderful pictures of her garden.
Back on 14th June they collected 11m² of our Wildflower Border Turf and laid it immediately in their garden. After watering carefully as recommended, the flowers have provided a wonderful lush greenery and has yielded some beautiful blooms already.

Another close up.

Zoom out! 
 
 
If anyone has some equally excellent photos of our Turf, please send them into:
Wildflower@wildflowerturf.co.uk

Geoffrey Court, from The Circle Works in London wanted to create a Wildflower area to surround the memorial to a friend and co-worker.

We all thought what a lovely idea. We supplied about 30m² of Wildflower Turf to Geoffrey back in September 2011. Such a thoughtful thing to do, and it will always provide flowers year on year because they are perennials. Not only will it look attractive but it will also support a whole host of insects from bees to butterflies to beetles, which in turn will attract birds and mammals!
Geoffrey has been diligently taking a photograph of the turf every month, and every time he does, he thinks, “I should send the guys at Wildflower Turf the pictures.” “Well, here they are,” he commented.  They look fantastic and show how the turf has progressed over the seasons.

A couple of years ago Helen Elks-smith winning entry for the Jacksons Fencing Show Garden competition, utilised our Wildflower Turf to great effect. In order to extend the flowering season Helen decided to add Aquilegia which is a beautiful plant and worked perfectly with the wildflowers due to the fact that they are clump-forming herbaceous perennials. Not only are they striking in form with their bonnet-shaped flowers, but quite colourful. The design brief stated that the design needed to suit an environmentally sensitive young couple who didn’t have time for gardening, yet loved being outside. Quite a typical design brief for a garden designer in the 21st century, especially in urban areas.
As the images below show by mid May (back in 2011), the meadow is happily filling the ‘borders’ framing, yet softening the edges of the hard landscaped areas.

Helen very kindly sent us some updated pictures of the garden. The Wildflower Turf has matured perfectly a year later and it is looking very healthy and has established admirably.