Wild flowers in our scrubby bit of shady grass under trees - and clover??

[loveyouradvice]

Hi all... we are keen to plant a mix, inspired by Monty Don but I keep wondering what it will look like when all the flowers have died....how long will it last?

And can I mix it with white clover which I love? Or do the two not go together....

We are thinking classic hedgerow mix, and lots of yellow rattle

It's tricky if your trees are pines, it would be better if they're deciduous, You could use bulbs ,but not perfect, because wild flowers and clover need lots of light. They don't want rich soil so under a tree the soil would be ok. You could try!

I've got cyclamen and some specific sages under a deciduous tree.

because wild flowers and clover need lots of light Some wild flowers and clover need lots of light! But quite a lot of wildflowers have solved their dislike of competition by adapting to shady conditions - eg wood anemone, wood sorrel, wood avens, enchanters nightshade, wild garlic, wild arum.

A hedgerow mix should give you a number of plants which are tolerant of shade, and a mix of annuals and perennials. What you will find is you have a longer flowering season but a less intense one. Things like jack-by-the-hedge flower early in the year, whereas red campion is still in flower now.

Don't worry about the yellow rattle. It's a plant of open hay meadows and needs a lot of light.

We have clover in our woodland edge Pictorial meadow mix ( no yellow rattle0. Year 2 and starting to look good now. Very tall though, hoping it'll get less leggy as the soil loses fertility.

cathyclare that is SO stunning! How long does it look beautiful for... and what happens once it all dies back?

Im hoping clover might have a longer season of looking good....

This site does a mix for woodland and shade. I've not used them but I may do.

www.wildflowerlawnsandmeadows.com/wild-flower-seeds-for-sale/

@cathyandclare so jealous, that looks beautiful!

@loveyouradvice I bought this from my local garden centre- might be worth considering?

I still have red campion in flower - it's been in flower all summer. You'll get that in most woodland mixes. Here's a standard "hedgerow mix" - there'll be something in flower from spring until the frosts.

2.5 Achillea millefolium Yarrow
6 Agrimonia eupatoria Agrimony
12.5 Alliaria petiolata Garlic Mustard
5 Betonica officinalis - (Stachys officinalis) Betony
10 Centaurea nigra Common Knapweed
2 Clinopodium vulgare Wild Basil
3 Digitalis purpurea Foxglove
5 Galium album - (Galium mollugo) Hedge Bedstraw
7.5 Geum urbanum Wood Avens
5 Hypericum perforatum Perforate St John's Wort
2.5 Leucanthemum vulgare Oxeye Daisy
5 Plantago lanceolata Ribwort Plantain
5 Primula veris Cowslip
5 Prunella vulgaris Selfheal
10 Silene dioica Red Campion
10 Torilis japonica Upright Hedge-parsley
2 Vicia cracca Tufted Vetch
2 Vicia sativa ssp. segetalis Common Vetch