The Meadow

When we moved to Willowdale Farm in October 2020, the property was landscaped with various mulch beds, each with some shrubs and/or trees. So much mulch. The largest of the mulch beds ran along about half of the eastern border of the property, and it had 2 large conifers, virburnum, spirea, some lilies of the valley, a patch of daffodils, a small crepe myrtle, a dying Japanese maple, and a small yellow baptisia.

The shrubs were neatly and tightly clipped, and there was much more brown than green.  

We decided that this would be a good area for a wildflower meadow.  In the winter of 2020, we scraped off the mulch and scattered wildflower seeds — a special mix for the north east U.S. I added extra seeds for specific flowers I wanted to grow.  The mix changes every year, but I try to use seeds for as many perennials as possible to guarantee that the flowers I want will come back each year. If something does well, I’ll plant more of those seeds the following winter. For example, this winter, I added flax, lacy phacelia, sweet William, and blue daisy to the wildflower mix. Wildflower seeds are generally sown in the late fall or winter.  They need cold stratification, which breaks their dormancy and allows them to germinate in the spring.

The results were great the first spring; the wallflowers, sweet William, coneflower, and ox eye daisy got a good start. We did not plant wildflowers only, and I added lily bulbs in the bed because I love lilies. I did not remove the daffodils. It’s also important to note that not all of the plants in the meadow are native, as strongly advocated by different sources, including Penn State Extension. However, my stance is the following: I plant as many natives as possible, but I also mix in plants that I love and that attract pollinators.  A perfect example is the verbena bonariensis — not a native but consistently attracts more pollinators than just about any other plant in the gardens. The meadow and other gardens have enough native plants so that the property earned Pollinator Friendly status from PSE, so I don’t feel bad about mixing in what I want.

The photos below show the meadow in its first year.

Well, I guess that’s the point! Since the first year, the perennials have become established: purple cone flower, ox eye daisy, coreopsis, flax, mondara, goldenrod (self-sown), New England aster, snakeroot, golden Alexander. Things don’t look as tidy as they did at the beginning.  The mondara, for example, is a very tall plant and it gets covered in powdery mildew each year, but I leave it alone because the bees love it. I made the mistake of collecting and then sowing tons of evening primrose seeds. They grew to 7 feet, took over the meadow, and had to be pulled out. The display progresses from the daffodils, spirea, wall flowers and forget-me-nots to the flax, lilies, coneflowers, poppies, cornflowers, and then in fall to the asters, goldenrod, and snakeroot (which has also gotten out of hand). The photos below show this progression in 2022 and 2023.

This past summer, it bothered me that the meadow looked so untidy.  But then I began to document many solitary bees, hundreds of bumble bees, and predators (garter snakes, spiders, lady beetles and their larvae, and hover fly larvae). Monty Don always says that predators are the sign of a healthy garden, so that’s the tradeoff.  It’s come a long way from the vast expanse of mulch!

Summer 2023

Many people in the neighborhood have stopped to talk to us about the meadow, Ben’s bees, the raised vegetable beds, and our work on the property in general, and they’ve been very positive. In response to genuine interest and to complaints from side neighbors who don’t approve of our “no mow May” patch of grass, I created two large signs that are placed facing the street. 

They capture most, but certainly not all, of the plants and the animal species that come to visit. Most amazing are the solitary bees documented here. A lot of the photos I got last year were accidental, and I’m excited for this year since I now know what to look for.