Spring year 2 is particularly showy, and indicates at least a degree of self seeding successfully.
Very nice! I did 125 sqft of wildflowers last spring and will do another 125 sqft this year too.
~11.5 m2 for most readers.
What a great spot, thanks for sharing. Do you have to do much for them or is it mostly about letting nature do nature things?
I chose 2 spots in the yard that had awful, compacted soil and consequently shitty growth anyway. My reasoning being if I was going to so work somewhere may as well make it somewhere that needed it anyway.
I initially choked the lawn with black plastic, then tilled it a bit, scattered compost and seeds atop. I ringed it in non specific mulch from the local tree lopers, as many trees release growth inhibiting chemicals that might have helped slow the encroaching grass.
After it was established I stopped watering it, and it’s been left alone. I’ll probably need to spread some more compost, and we haven’t had a drought yet where it will likely need life support to save that cycle of seeds.
I mostly wanted to see how low effort unmanaged patches of garden replacing lawn could be. Turns out pretty, if you don’t mind scruffiness.
It’s very cool. There is such a wonderful variety of plants and colors. Beautiful place.
So beautiful 😻
One of my favorite things is watching what is coming back each year and how different flowers come up at different times. There is always something in bloom!
Yeah, I deliberately chose a flower heavy seed mix. In aus we’re blessed in winter with the wattle blooms and pea flowers but it’s still a fantastic splash of colour and texture during a time that can be a bit wearying.