Ladybird Meadow

This Ladybird Meadow combines 28 species of perennial or annual plants that promote the presence of ladybirds, a precious ally for gardeners. When present in numbers, ladybirds effectively and naturally regulate the presence of aphids in the garden. Composed of attractive and nourishing flowers, as aesthetic as they are useful, this meadow includes borage, centaury, chamomile, and viper's bugloss; all flowers particularly appreciated by ladybirds. The seeds are sown in the spring, in the sun, in freshly cleared, worked, and loosened soil. The area will then flower for several years and provide a good refuge for biodiversity. 

All these plants show rather rapid growth and easily naturalise in the garden, self-seeding wherever they please. Undemanding, they adapt to a wide range of soils as long as they are not too clayey, too acidic, or too arid. Annuals flower 6 to 8 weeks after sowing, while perennials produce flowers from the spring following sowing. The flowering extends from June to September. A box of seeds allows for cover up to 600 square metres. The size of the plants varies from 30 cm (12in) to 80 cm (32in) in height.

Sample composition: Echium plantagineum, Centaurea cyanus, Borago officinalis, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, etc.

It has become very popular to sow wildflower meadows, which combine usefulness with pleasure, bloom throughout the entire summer season, and require very little maintenance: watering if the weather is really dry and cutting to 10-20 cm (4-8in) in autumn will be more than enough. Invite nature into your garden: sow our flowering meadows near the vegetable garden, or on a slope that borders a sunken path, near your fruit trees, or at the back of a garden that borders the countryside.

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