Blends of bulbs and seeds are a relatively new application for plantings in public spaces. The resulting flower meadows are popping up in cities ever more often. With many months of flowering, they have a high experience and biodiversity value. They can be maintained extensively.
Eight months of flowering
The bulbs in these blends will start flowering first. They provide long-awaited colour early in spring as well as food for insects. In May/June the seeds will flower, such as cornflowers and poppies. This combination of bulbs and wildflowers from single, biennial or perennial seeds extends the flowering time of the planting until early autumn. In this way, they promise a whopping eight months of colour, making them a popular choice with municipalities that increasingly put improving biodiversity on their agendas.
Tailor-made
Naturalising bulbs that return for many years, such as crocus (e.g. Crocus vernus), grape hyacinth (e.g. Muscari armeniacum), botanical tulip (e.g. Tulipa turkestanica) and Camassia are particularly suitable for blends. The blends can be customised with different colour combinations and heights. In the successive phases, a different picture with new colours and shapes emerges every time. Alliums, for example, continue to show a beautiful silhouette after flowering.
Reduced maintenance
A blend of bulbs and seeds is also cost-effective because maintenance intervals can be reduced. Mowing is only required once a year, in November/December. As such, road verges or central reservations with grass strips often give way to these flower meadows these days. And that is good news, because these herb-rich vegetations act as connecting links in animal habitat.
Tips
For roundabouts and intersections where traffic must have good visibility, mixes with lower vegetation are appropriate.
An insect hotel in or near plantings is even more helpful for biodiversity and creates awareness of biodiversity among passers-by.
