'Seed bombs' may not suit your meadow

If you're thinking of replicating wildflower meadows that feature in some famous paintings from the old continental artists, by using imported seeds or seed 'bombs', think again, writes Brian Byrne.

An article on pollinators.ie says a sea of poppies and cornflowers a la a French landscape just doesn't work in Ireland.

Professor Yvonne Buckley of TCD writes that such seeds probably don't suit the soil here, and also may have been bred for looks instead of function.

The 'shocking yellow of dandelions and the dusky pinks and whites of clover, the daisy ballerina tutus and the softly nodding grass flowerheads' are more of what the Irish landscape should provide, she says.

The article Why ‘wildflower seed’ is a prickly issue – Rethinking the wildflower meadow is well worth the read here. 

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