39. THE MEADOW GARDEN—THE SECRET IS POOR SOIL

Meadow gardens are magical: open sunny areas that blend meadow grasses with flowering plants. These “wild” gardens provide food and habitat for birds, butterflies, and insects. And they delight us with a loose display of colorful blossoms. Meadow gardens were once considered to be weedy, but thanks to people like the great 20th-century English plantsman and author, Christopher Lloyd, we now appreciate them in all their unwieldy glory. Lloyd’s willingness to let plants sow themselves and settle wherever they like opened people’s eyes to a new way of flower gardening. He wrote about his meadow garden in his famous garden at Great Dixter in England, “Your first sight, on entering the front gate, is of two areas of rough grass, either side of the path to the house. . . . They contain a rich assortment of plants that enjoy growing in turf and the grass is not cut until all its contents have completed ripening and shedding their seed. Much of this is native material that needed no introduction. The poorer the soil, the richer the tapestry that can be created.”

The key, as Lloyd noted, is the poor soil! Wildflowers can grow in less-than-ideal soil conditions while weeds do not. So do not enrich the soil in your meadow garden, and help the wildflowers win out over the weeds. This is also true for grasses. They will not overwhelm wildflowers in lean soil.

Rocket larkspur (Consolida ajacis) is true to its name, as spikes of upright pink, blue, purple, or white flowers arise from a base of low-growing leaves. It is a stunning wildflower and a perfect annual for a meadow garden. This plant spreads by reseeding itself. Deer resistant. Plant and seeds are poisonous. Blooms from spring to summer and grows in disturbed areas and a wide range of well-drained soil conditions. Hardy in zones 2–11.

Red corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas) and blue cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) are a natural combination in a meadow garden. They are annuals but self-seed and come back anew each year in disturbed soil. The colorful poppies, with their tissue-paper petals, seem to dance on the breeze. The cornflowers in the distance, also known as bachelor’s buttons, appear like blue confetti. These two plants are extremely easy to grow from seed strewn about in the fall. Cut them down each year in late October, after the flowers have seeded the area.

Why not plant some sunflowers outside a west-facing window? Sunflowers are heliotropic, meaning that they follow the sun. They always face east when the flower heads are filled with seed. They will happily greet you as you gaze outside on summer days.