Four years ago, when we bought our farm, everything was fairly wild around the house and land. It hadn’t been used as a farm, or perhaps even for enjoyment of the land, in quite awhile. Therefore, we had, and have, lots of overgrowth, vines and invasives that we are constantly fighting against. We are trying to take the approach of “one area at a time” – not my speciality and as I want it all done now. This past fall and spring we seeded a small wildflower meadow adjacent to our newly planted orchard (that’s a whole other story!). As we’ve watched it bloom this summer, it has quickly become one of my favorite areas on the farm.

This was actually our second attempt at a wildflower meadow. I can’t say why it didn’t take the first time but I suspect it was lack of preparation (isn’t that always the way?). Turns out that you can’t just throw some seed down and hope for the best but rather need to give those seeds the best possible start by taking out as many weeds as possible (plastic to kill the weed seeds or, I hate to say it, roundup).

We ordered a custom seed mix of wildflowers and grasses from Ernst Seeds. They are a family owned business and very easy to work with. We have a lot of invasive silt grass on our farm and our biggest concern is keeping it out of this area. Our hope is that we seeded heavily enough that it won’t be a problem.

So far, lots of rudbeckia have come up and the cosmos are starting to flower as well. I also adore the pops of blue from the bachelor buttons!

The birdhouse is a gift for Mother’s Day and is propped atop a cedar tree from the property.

It’s also a joy to see the pollinators enjoying the meadow. The bees and butterflies are busy and we’ve even seen a fair many praying mantis!

I’m sure that it will continue to evolve this summer and beyond but for now I’m so happy with how it’s gotten started!