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Sowing yellow rattle

Yellow rattle, or Rhinanthus minor, helps wildflower meadows grow.

One of the things that I’m most excited about in the Dream Garden is the little wildflower lawn that I’ve set aside. I posted about planting it up last summer, but while there are still frosts on the ground, it’s a good time to sow another flower that is pretty, but also makes meadow management easier. It’s yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor, and it grows as a semi-parasitic annual, taking some of the vigour out of the meadow grass and therefore making it easier for wildflowers to establish.

yellow rattle seed

For wild flower lawns and meadows, yellow rattle seed is the sort of thing that helps them get going. The people at Wildflower Lawns and Meadows sent me a pack of seed, with instructions to sow while there were still frosts. So I did. I’ve raked the lawn to remove some of the dead grass ‘thatch’, which I’ve used on the rather muddy path so that my feet have a better grip as I trudge up and down to the hen garden.

sowing yellow rattle

Then I sprinkled the seeds evenly over the grass. And that’s it. I’ll post photos of my little army of yellow rattles, which will fight to get my meadow looking beautiful.

wildflower meadow yellow rattle

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