Driveway Border from Seed

During the development of this new-build project we identified an area of poor soil underneath a large established Oak tree. We were unable to dig into this area to cultivate it, as it was mostly taken up by the root protection zone (RPZ) of the tree. However we saw this as a gift, as it offered the opportunity to sow a community of plants from seed, adapted to the conditions, without disturbing the roots of the tree.

We sowed a mixture of perennial wildflowers with a ‘nurse mix’ of annual wildflowers - this means there is a show of colour in the first year while the perennials are spending time establishing themselves as seedlings. In the following year, the perennials start putting on their show of flowers.