Vent d'Autan

Would you like to create a wildflower-rich meadow on your lawn, field, park or workplace?

If you are, then we can help you.

Managed as a working organic farm, our Waun Las National Nature Reserve supports a beautiful mosaic of wildflower-rich hay meadows and pastures.

The harvesting of wildflower seeds and grasses is now in progress and the seeds are available to pre-order from our online shop. We use a brush harvester to collect ripe seeds from the wildflowers and grasses without cutting the sward. The crop is laid out in a barn to dry for a week or two, rotated, and then sieved by hand. We have five meadows available for harvesting, each with their own character, including damp and drier areas that can be matched to suit your sowing sites. Complete species lists will be available once the seeds are harvested and analysed.

We have the following native wildflower and grass seed mixes for pre-order –

The income stream from these sales helps to fund the Botanic Garden’s charitable work.

We also have green hay for meadow creation available for purchase, but hurry as this is only available for a limited time. This is priced to compensate for a lower seed yield and to help fund the cutting of the meadows.

Please direct sales enquiries to our Farm and Estate Manager, Huw Jones: 07500 897574 huw.jones@gardenofwales.org.uk

For over-sowing into existing grass, the recommended sowing rate is 5 g/m2. For sowing on bare soil, the recommended sowing rate is 10 g/m2. For best results, the seed needs to be sown September-January.

For success, we recommend reading or seeking guidance on making and managing meadows. Comprehensive bilingual guidance is available from Plantlife’s Meadows Hub.

We are licenced by the Animal and Plant Health Authority to market ‘preservation mixtures’ – licence number 7671.  Note germination cannot be guaranteed and is also dependent on sowing conditions.

Sow in autumn outdoors on bare ground or into your existing lawn, scratching the surface of the soil first.  Allow plants to flower and set seed before cutting back and collecting up clippings.  Some longer lived (perennial) species will take time to establish and flower.