Wildflower planting with children.
Do you want to show your kids how to attract pollinators and help turn your outdoor space into a wildlife garden?
Are you unsure when to sow wildflower seeds or wonder how much space you need to plant a wildflower meadow? Don’t think you can grow wildflowers in containers? Think again.
Wildflower planting tutorial
In this fun, easy container gardening tutorial you will learn how to plant a wildflower meadow in an old wheelbarrow or other container. It takes up very little space in even the smallest garden and is a perfect gardening project for children.
It’s a simple way to create a mini wildflower meadow on a postage stamp and you can sow seeds in Spring or Autumn for a glorious display within a few weeks.
How to make a wildflower meadow in a wheelbarrow
Restore, recycle, reuse! It’s quick and easy to turn an old wheelbarrow into a wildflower meadow.
You will need:
- One old wheelbarrow or other suitable container
- Sandpaper
- Metallic paint
- Paintbrush
- Bin liner or heavy duty plastic bag
- Organic, peat-free compost
- Wildflower seeds
What to do:
1. Take one rusty, decades-old wheelbarrow belonging to a much beloved great Uncle (hopefully with his approval from the great allotment in the sky!)
2. Scrub off the rust and re-paint with a shiny new coat of metallic blue Hammerite metal paint
3. Allow to dry
4. Roughly line with a black bin bag making a couple of puncture holes for drainage (the barrow already had holes in so the bag is a bit of added protection)
How to Plant Wildflower Seeds in a Container or Wheelbarrow
5. Fill your wheelbarrow container with soil or compost. Wildflowers don’t need particularly rich soil but we’re organic gardeners at Kids of the Wild so any organic peat-free compost is great
6. Add a packet of wildflower seeds from Friends of the Earth’s Bee Cause or Royal Botanic Garden Kew’s Grow Wild and you’re doing your bit for the environment too, so everybody wins. Or you can buy mixed wild flower seed packs if you prefer – see below
7. Sprinkle with water, whisper a fertility spell and muster a little patience 🪄
Ta da!!
Project for a Small Garden
It only needs the tiniest garden, patio space or balcony and you’ve created a thing of beauty as well as a home for bugs and insects and a food supply for bees, butterflies and other nectar-loving critters.
Our wildflowers were planted rather late in the season in July.
Not sure what the Wild One is up to in this photo…
They grew wonderfully well but needed a lot more watering than our other containers as there are so many plants competing in such a small space. It’s now the end of October and they’re still flowering!
Plant Wildflowers at Any Time of Year
Start wildlife gardening NOW. Wildflower seed mixes can be sown in spring or autumn so you can realistically plant any time from spring to autumn – check out Grow Wild’s website for more information.
GET GROWING! Mother Nature will love you for ever.
Poppies, corn chamomile and cornflowers growing in Uncle Paul’s wheelbarrow
Join us at Kids of the Wild
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For more small garden container ideas try our DIY Welly Plant Containers and for more ways to get active in the garden see 25 Ways to Go Wild in the Garden, read more in our Gardening pages and don’t forget Kids of the Wild’s take on the benefits of being outside, with the science included too!
Wild wishes for family fun restoring your old containers for wildflower planting!
Get the Gear
Click on the images to find best prices at Amazon.
I-Spy Wildflowers book
Hammerite Metal Paint, blue
New Horizon Organic Peat-free Compost
Bee Bombs wildflower seed mix
Just Seed Wildflower Seeds Mix
Seedballs wildflower mix
Garden wheelbarrow
Thompson & Morgan wildflower seeds
I love this idea! Truly brilliant and even portable. A perfect addition to a small garden or patio, and a great way to recycle a wheelbarrow that may be a bit past it.
Thank you very much for sharing this fun idea 🙂
Glad you like it.The idea arose because I was too sentimental to get rid of the old barrow! We’ll be re-planting every year for as long as it holds out though it actually re-flowered last year without planting any more seeds. Thanks for reading
I’m tempted to put my wheelbarrow to use in this way. It’s gradually crumbling apart.
Go for it! It’s a great way to reinvigorate an old barrow, looks fab when the plants flower.
How lovely! 😍 I love the vintage garden look. I have an old tin bath that I fill with bulbs and then summer bedding; it looks great. Using an old wheelbarrow? Why not! What a super container. Did you have to drill holes in it to support drainage? I think here in Wiltshire with all our rain, I would have to do that first. I love wild flowers and think they best support local wildlife don’t you think?
Thank you so much for linking to #MyGloriousGardens this month! I hope you found some lovely blogs to read. We are a friendly bunch of people of all ages! I will post a round up post towards the end of the month for another mention. Hope to see you next month.
Sophie
Thanks Sophie, love your garden linky, there’s some great inspiration amongst the community. I didn’t have to drill any holes as the barrow was rusted in several places. I don’t have a permanent garden at the moment. Looking forward to getting one and setting up some proper wildlife areas. Thanks for reading and for hosting a great linky