Exciting new species rich product from Turfonline

For gardeners who want a low maintenance lawn that is 100%
real, we’ve developed Species Rich Meadowmat. A wildlife friendly, user
friendly lawn that only needs occasional mowing. Read on to find out more

These days there can’t be many gardeners who are not aware
of the pro’s and con’s of artificial turf. The promise of low maintenance lawn
is incredibly tempting but needs to be weighed up with the environmental cost.

What is Species Rich Meadowmat?

Imagine yourself on a lovely sunny day, laying on a cool
lawn surrounded by flowers and lulled into relaxation by the gentle humming of
bees.

Species Rich Meadowmat is one way to create such a lawn for
yourself. It’s a blend of 12 different species of slow growing grasses with a
whopping 23 types of pollinator-friendly perennial plants that are native to
the UK.

Install Species Rich Meadowmat as though you were laying
lawn turf. The rolls are slightly larger but the technique is just the same.
There’s no need to add pre-turfing fertiliser to the soil and you don’t have to
worry about nutrient levels. The wildflowers in Species Rich Meadowmat grow in
most soil types. It is important to keep your Meadowmat well-watered until it
is established though.

A Compromise between real and artificial lawns

Modern artificial grass looks great but at the end of the
day, it’s plastic. The manufacturers claim that it can be recycled yet there’s
a whisper that recycling centres are not quite geared up for it yet. And then
there’s the carbon footprint. Natural plants absorb CO2 from the air, they help
to support a complex ecosystem in the soil and of course they are a source of
food for some mammals. To say nothing of the shelter that a real lawn provides
for many insects.

Species Rich Meadowmat is a good compromise between
artificial grass and high maintenance lawns.

Here are just some of the benefits of species rich turf

• Absorbs CO2 from the air and releases oxygen
• Soaks up rainwater and allows it to filter
  naturally into the soil
• Only needs mowing occasionally (every 14 days or
  so in the growing season)
• A source of food for pollinators
• Interesting tapestry effect from a mix of
  grasses and low growing native perennial plants
• Hardwearing
• Stays greener for longer in summer
• Frost hardy
• Suits a low maintenance regime

What plants are in Species Rich Meadowmat?

We’ve grown Species Rich Meadowmat from seed in our outdoor production fields in Norfolk. Here’s the seedmix we’ve sown. All but one of the plant species are perennial – in other words they keep on growing year after year after year.

Slow growing grasses (80% of seedmix)

• Slender Creeping Red Fescue
• Hard Fescue
• Sheeps Fescue
• Small Leaved Timothy
• Crested Dogs Tail
• Brown Top Bent
• Chewings Fescue
• Creeping Bent
• Strong Creeping Red Fescue
• Smooth Meadow Grass
• Rough Stalked Meadow Grass
• Perennial Ryegrass

Native wildflowers (20% of seedmix)

• Common Knapweed
• Meadow Buttercup
• Rough Hawkbit
• Cat’s Ear
• Cowslip
• Common mouse-ear
• Flax
• Birdsfoot Trefoil
• Black Medick
• Ribwort Plantain
• Common Sorrel
• Lady’s Bedstraw
• White Clover
• Creeping Buttercup
• Selfheal
• Yarrow
• Autumn Hawkbit
• Yellow Rattle
• Small Scabious
• Wood Sage
• Wild Carrot
• Red Clover
• Common Dandelion

Like any wildflower seeds, germination and establishment is
slower in some species than others. So whilst we’re confident that all of the
seeds are present, some of the species may not appear in the first year. We
think that makes Species Rich Meadowmat all the more exciting – you never know
what might pop up next!

Learn more on the Turfonline Website 

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