To start with, I’m sure lots of you have noticed areas of ‘Urban Meadows’ that Cheltenham Borough Council have been planting. I chatted with Janice Peacey, Community Ranger for CBC, who told me how popular these plantings have been – in excess of 80 emails and nearly 40 phone calls logged in favour of the meadows!

Some of the mixes used were the ‘Old Comrade Mix’ with poppies to commemorate the start of the Great War, and a more traditional cornfield mix used in Pitville Park, which is even now just coming into flower. Janice invited readers to visit the Cheltenham Parks’ facebook page and upload pictures of themselves or their pets enjoying the meadows.

Now, this is something we could all copy at home. Unlike wildflower meadows, which are quite difficult to establish as they need very poor soil, or the grasses take over, any sunny patch of earth could do. There are many different companies doing the seeds – for example, Pictorial Meadows do a nice annual seed mix, which is easy to sow.

Wait for the explosion of colour
Clear weeds off in the autumn or early spring and prepare soil to a depth of about 20cm, leaving a fine tilth on the surface. Scatter your seeds at the rate suggested on the packet in spring, water in dry spells and wait for the explosion of colour.

Now the tips for September. If the weather allows, you can get on with lifting and dividing any perennials that have got too congested, and stopped flowering as well as they have been – this can be done in spring but by then things can get very busy, so it is one less job to do.

Lift the large clumps and, with a pair of garden forks back to back, prise them apart into smaller pieces. Discard the woody, congested centre of clumps, replanting pieces which look healthy and have a good root system, as well as new shoots, into compost enriched soil with some bone meal added. These will give a good show the following summer. This can be done up till Christmas depending on the weather. Leave grasses, silvery foliage plants and late-flowering plants until spring to sort out.

Cut asparagus ferns to the ground and get rid of them, as they may be harbouring the eggs of the asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi. Apply a balanced feed such as blood, fish and bone meal over the soil surface to help ensure a good crop next year.