Guide for Crafting a Wildflower Container

In the heart of spring, garden enthusiasts can embark on a delightful project: recreating a planting combination of native wildflowers and silky eragrostis grass in their own gardens. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you achieve this beautiful garden feature.

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

To start, you'll need wildflower seed, eragrotis grass seed, multi-purpose, peat-free compost, a container, slow-release fertiliser, water-retaining granules, and small pots for indoor eragrostis back-up.

Step 2: Prepare the Container

Begin by preparing your container. Add crocks to the bottom for drainage, then fill it with a mix of compost, slow-release fertiliser, and water-retaining gel, leaving a gap of 6cm from the rim. Spread the container with a 2cm layer of seed compost.

Step 3: Sowing the Seeds

Make a thin sowing of native field cornflowers over the whole surface of the seed compost. Afterward, another thin sowing of Eragrostis 'Ruby Silk' seeds is made over the previous sowing, then covered lightly with vermiculite. Small pots of Eragrostis are sown indoors as a back-up.

Step 4: Planting the Seedlings

As the seedlings start to sprout, in about 4-6 weeks, patches of wildflower seedlings are removed to make room for extra potted clumps of Eragrostis. These potted clumps are then planted in the garden, ensuring at least 10cm of space between plants. At this stage, seedlings are also thinned out to provide enough room for the growing plants.

Step 5: Caring for Your Wildflower Container

Place the wildflower container in a sunny position and begin regular deadheading of wildflowers to extend their flowering. The grass needs sunlight to ripen, so the container should be placed in a warm, bright spot.

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