How to create a meadow in your garden!
Glad you found your way here! I assume you also want to enjoy flowers, butterflies, and swallows?
With all my heart, I want to help you create a meadow in the best and easiest way possible!
Here you will find answers to all your questions. (Just keep scrolling down!) The flower meadow is surrounded by plenty of myths and a shady market of poor seed mixes that we'll delve into a bit. That's why the page is loooong!
Still feel it's too difficult and unclear?
Send me some pictures and book a phone meeting with me!
Why do a meadow provide the best bird feed?
Yes - a large number of wild insects thrive here, and that's exactly what baby birds eat. Naturally, those that only feed on insects do well too. For example, swallows, swifts, flycatchers, pipits, redstarts, wagtails, thrushes, all warblers, wrynecks, wheatears, curlews, and bats.
I can now take delight in breeding wheatears since I got a meadow. I also see how swallows and swifts constantly fly over the large meadow in search of insects. That warms the heart!
The wildflower meadow means that...
- you contribute to our biological diversity
- you benefit wild insects such as bees and other pollinators
- you support birds and their offspring
- you have a beautiful meadow to explore and enjoy
- you avoid mowing the grass there every week
- you can mow the meadow with a scythe, which makes hardly any noise or emissions
- you can enjoy silence, bird songs, and clean air – followed by a good conscience!
Feel free to report your meadow to Operation Save the Bees, which is the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation's project to support bees and other pollinators in various ways.
Too many decisions? – Book a consultation.
We are discussing the easiest way possible for you to create and maintain a meadow according to your circumstances. I can also quite easily calibrate what is practically feasible and find the smartest path forward based on your situation.
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What Exactly is a Meadow?
The saying "A meadow is the mother of the field" refers to the natural cycle where the meadow provides food for animals and the animals provide manure for the field. The classic mown meadow was thus the driving force of agriculture - the farmer's most beautiful creation. It was mown with a scythe every year in late summer, and the grass was dried into hay as winter fodder for the animals. Thanks to this, the land was depleted of nutrients, and light reached all the way down to the small leaves along the ground after the mowing. This benefited the less competitive flowers - which are many more compared to the few competitive grasses and herbs that take over a land and choke out other flowers if not managed. Meadows are simply excellent for biodiversity!
In the mid-1800s, there were still many millions of hectares of natural meadowland in Sweden. The richness of plants, butterflies, and birds that existed then is probably beyond our imagination. Areas that were too rocky, swampy, or located too far from the farm were used as meadows. Often, animals were allowed to graze there after the hay harvest.
Why did the meadows disappear?
The Green Revolution.
In the mid-1800s, the great Green Revolution took place. The key to it was the realization that clovers and alfalfa bind nitrogen directly from the nitrogen gas in the air into the soil. Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for plants.
At that time, a suitable mixture of clovers and vigorously growing grasses began to be sown on arable land, which grew very lushly. Arable land is an area that is free enough of obstacles and dry enough for plowing and harrowing. Farmers could now let the field rest for a couple of years from grain cultivation with "pasture". By pasture, one means a planted grass/clover mixture intended to be harvested as animal feed. The pasture provided protein-rich hay that could be harvested with machines instead of scythes. But there were further advantages:
1. When the pasture was plowed after two years to cultivate grain, there was plenty of free nitrogen in the soil, which increased the yield.
2. The pasture suppressed and outcompeted some weeds (at that time there were no chemicals in agriculture).
3. The risk of crop rotation diseases decreased as the use of the field became more varied.
The Meadows Disappear.
The Green Revolution was now in full swing - it was understood that arable land "is the shit," so why should one go with a scythe among stones and in marshes when one could harvest lush grass on farmland that simultaneously magically fertilized the ground?
This was followed by 100 years (until about 1950) of intensive work to convert meadows into fields. Drainage and tiling of marshes and boggy lands, piping of open ditches, lake lowering, blasting, and breaking up of earth-bound stones.
Basically, they were engaging in what we today call organic farming, agriculture with ley as the driver but still without artificial fertilizers and pesticides. Farms still had their own animals, meadows were mowed once a year for hay, and all natural pastures were grazed. Despite the entire agricultural practice now being organically cultivated, a great deal of biodiversity was lost due to converting meadows into fields. One of the birds hardest hit by this was the White Stork, which disappeared completely, from having about 5,000 breeding pairs in Skåne 100 years earlier. Naturally, hundreds of other less conspicuous species of insects and plants followed into extinction.
Industrialization and Specialization.
From 1950 to 1990, more changes occurred. Fossil fuels and increasingly efficient machinery made their appearance, as did pesticides. The area of land that supported 15 farms in the 1950s could be managed by one farmer 50 years later. Artificial fertilizers made us less reliant on pastures and cow manure to fertilize the fields.
Now agriculture is becoming industrialized, and fields are mostly used for grains. Most animals no longer eat grass but grains. Hay essentially disappears as fodder. The grass consumed by cows is silage—fermented grass that ferments in the white plastic bales. Farmers begin to harvest two or three cuts of silage from the pastures instead of one cut of hay. Pesticides reduce the number of weeds and even fewer insects, and fertilizers make all crops dense so that no light reaches the ground for insects and weeds. Pastures disappear as animals are largely confined within very large industries and are not present on every farm. Farms specialize in either producing grain or livestock.
Harvests are increasing, and more species are disappearing.
Now, the Eurasian Curlew, Ortolan Bunting, Corn Bunting, and Crested Lark are also disappearing almost entirely as breeding birds in agricultural landscapes. Several other species, such as the Northern Lapwing, Wheatear, Barn Swallow, and Skylark, are decreasing drastically. Not to mention butterflies, plants, and others with more anonymous roles in nature.
Several hundred thousand years ago, a vibrant, rich ecosystem developed in the open grazed areas where large herds of grass-eating aurochs, bison, and mammoths grazed. When we later managed to eradicate these animals through hunting and instead became farmers, we supported this ecosystem for many hundreds of years with the help of grazing and scything.
Where are the wild plants and insects supposed to go now that pastures are becoming overgrown and meadows are no longer being mowed?
Together, we create a patchwork of new meadowlands!
The historical reading might be a little gloomy. But the fun part is that if you have visions of creating new meadows with fluttering butterflies, you are not alone! Together, we are now transforming lawns on a rolling basis!
And it’s not just individuals—municipalities are converting many areas into meadowland. Housing companies, housing cooperatives, cemeteries. Companies with dull lawns outside their premises. The road authority and the nature conservation association are working on roadside verges. Private road associations are investing in meadows along the roads. Farmers are slowly starting to establish meadows, although better subsidies are needed.
We also see many companies that maintain gardens wanting to attend scythe courses because there are so many meadows to tend to in gardens nowadays!
So why should we let the Apollo butterfly only fly around and look so pretty just on Gotland and a few places along the east coast nowadays when it used to be found across large parts of Sweden? It's just waiting for us to create more flower-rich meadows with native Swedish flowers! And we have plenty of surfaces to extend the invitation!
Join in! Let’s get going!
Where and How Large?
Is it a new plot with bare soil or a newly laid lawn? An old lawn on an old plot or perhaps a field? A dry slope that hasn't been maintained for a while? Or an unkempt area with thick grass and brush?
The most prioritized areas for a meadow should be dry, sunny spots in the lawn. Or uncut grounds with many flowers that are at risk of being smothered by tall plants or brush that is on the way to becoming a forest. Keep in mind that it’s not always the large tall flowers that are most valuable for biological diversity but areas with slightly lower varied vegetation that seem to have many plant species. A meadow is often quite grass-dominated.
A meadow can hardly be too small. But not too large either! As long as you can take care of it. And remember that a meadow can be maintained like a lawn for one or several years and can be mown at different times—entirely depending on your life situation. The upkeep doesn't always have to be perfect.
Initial Condition of the Lawn
Find the best area!
The best meadow is the one you don’t need to sow! In certain cases, there can be a variety of meadow plants in mowed lawns, often found on old properties and summer cottage plots that used to be old meadow or pasture land. They are typically never sown with lawn grass or fertilized. The flowering plants in a meadow are almost exclusively perennials, so they can withstand many decades of lawn mowing. Mowing allows sunlight to reach herbs with small leaves close to the ground so that they survive year after year, even if they do not bloom.
So dive into the lawn and look! The more types of leaves you see in the lawn, the greater the likelihood of various types of flowers appearing. You don’t need to be botanically knowledgeable, just look for variation. Consider looking at the diversity in what initially seems to only be grass leaves—are they of different thicknesses, have varying shades of green, are they narrow/wide, pointed/blunt, hairy/smooth? Or does everything really look the same upon closer inspection?
Browse through the images in the slideshow here, and you'll see what I mean! A good botanist can name most species just by looking at the leaves in this way, but knowing the names isn’t the important part.
3-year-old newly established fertilized lawn = Out!
Old lawn, seeded and fertilized = sow!
Old lawn on a sandy industrial lot = Leave it!
Old lawn on an old meadow/pasture = Leave it!
Old lawn on an old meadow/pasture = Leave it!
Old lawn on an old meadow/pasture = Leave it!
Let it grow and see what happens
Quite often, it's easy to decide on sowing immediately – the lawn simply looks species-poor and monotonous. The further north you live, the more rural and with nutrient-poor soils, the more likely there is a good flora in the lawn from the start. In uncertain situations, it's good to let the grass grow tall for a summer, take more pictures, and see what appears. Again, you don't need to know the species – it's enough to observe how it grows and the variation.
In late summer, you can assess the results in three categories and act accordingly.
Standing grass, fairly sparse with varying heights and beautiful flowers – Good!
Congratulations! Just continue and maintain it as a meadow. (More on that below.)
Standing grass, quite dense, with a few flowers – Okay!
This often occurs on old lawns and more natural areas. Here, you can help the meadow develop in the right direction, and this can be done over many years. Together with regular maintenance with a scythe, it will yield fantastic results in the long run!
- Dig up smaller areas with a spade, about 1x1m, and turn the soil so the grass sod faces downwards. Do this in the spring or summer, rake the soil a bit to keep it open and bare. Then sow genuine meadow seeds, preferably in September. Sowing meadow seeds in an existing lawn rarely works because the seeds struggle to compete with the existing vegetation.
- Have a bonfire and grill sausages! This creates an area with bare soil where you can then sow or plant meadow plants.
- Transplant plants in soil clods. For those with more botanical knowledge, it can be efficient to use a spade to dig up substantial clods of the plants you want in the meadow. But remember to ask the landowner and not to take protected plants or the "last one" from a site. Keep in mind that it's best to transplant plants in the autumn when they are least sensitive to drying out. Preferably smaller plants. An advantage of moving clods is that you might bring along more plants and organisms than intended!
- Collect seeds from yellow rattle and sow them. This is a plant that can establish itself quite easily without bare soil. It's parasitic on grass, so a good stand can sometimes suppress tall grass effectively.
Of course, you can also collect seeds from other meadow plants in the surroundings if you wish!
Thick, sparse grass that lays down with barely a single flower – Bad
Here it's better to start over. The existing live grass must be removed so we can sow a proper meadow instead.
Overgrown Land
You might have an area or a slope with quite a lot of brush and stones, but with some herbs and grass struggling in the shade. Many such places were previously pastures, and there exists a good seed bank with plants that might be alive but not blooming. There could be enormous biodiversity here, needing just a bit more light. These places can be gradually restored to meadows by clearing brush and cutting down or girdling trees. The brush should be removed with roots intact; use a mattock and an axe.
If there are many large trees, it is advisable not to cut down or girdle all of them at once. This would lead to a strong root fertilization effect, which we don't want in the meadow. Start with the smallest ones first, pull out those that can be removed by hand, and expand the meadow little by little each year.
Unmown Area Without Brush
You might have an untended grassy area but without brush. Start by clearing last year's grass, which otherwise covers the smaller meadow plants and makes it hard for them to endure. If possible, it's excellent to burn such an area in the spring. This removes last year's grass, allowing you to easily see if there is anything else sticking up that could hinder the scythe later, such as old fences, sticks, stones, tussocks, or brush.
Already Dug and Disturbed Area
Drainage, leveling, new constructions, or a new plot – if the land is already unsown and bare, it's a golden opportunity to sow a meadow! Level the ground a bit and remove stones that might be in the way of mowing, then go ahead and sow genuine Swedish meadow seeds.
How to Sow a Meadow
Meadow seeds are best sown in the fall, in September or October. This is the natural time for seeds to be released and settle into the soil, as the moisture levels are more consistent then. In spring, there is a greater risk of drought. It is also important to sow in bare soil, so there are no old established plants or roots in the soil that can outcompete the small meadow seeds.
Therefore, it is extremely important to do good preparatory work. It isn’t enough to just rake the lawn a bit or use a rotary tiller once. No, all grass roots should be dead, and the soil should be as free from plant material as possible. Start preparing the soil as early as spring and work on it several times during the summer, then sow in September. This work is only done in the first summer and will be well worth it.
How to Prepare Bare Soil
For small areas, up to about 2 square meters, you can make deep square sods with a spade and simply turn them upside down, so that the grass turf is facing downward in the holes. Then, rake and hack the soil a little during the summer, as soon as something green appears.
Larger areas up to 100 square meters are better handled with a standard blade hoe. You can either peel away the grass turf a few centimeters down so the roots come with it and throw the turf on the compost. Then, loosen the soil a bit more and work on it as soon as new green emerges. You can also leave the grass on the surface after loosening it, and it will dry out and die. Repeat the process several times during the summer until the soil is bare. It is best to do the disturbance in the morning, on dry and windy days, as plants dry out best then. Another option is to use a rotary tiller once you have initially dug up the area with the blade hoe. A broadfork is also a tool that can work well for loosening without so that it becomes easier to use a rotary tiller. The rotary tiller almost never manages to tear up an untreated grassy area from the start.
If the area is more than 100 square meters, you either have more work ahead of you, or you need to use machines. An excavator quickly removes the grass turf. A tractor can plow and then harrow several times during the summer.
Poor Soil and Tarpaulin
There are some myths about needing to remove nutrient-rich soil and replace it with nutrient-poor soil to create a meadow, but this isn't true. (Unless the soil is extremely nutrient-rich, like an old manure pile, in which case choose another location for your meadow.) Meadows have existed on nutrient-rich land for all time; it's where the most hay grows. This is about competition, and meadow plants simply have a better chance in nutrient-poor soil, but it’s not as critical as it sometimes sounds.
Some recommend using a tarp over the soil to kill the grass. Often it isn't that straightforward, as plants can survive surprisingly well. But it isn’t impossible! If you make it completely tight and dark under the tarp with multiple layers and let it sit for a whole growing season from September to September, it can work.
Which Seeds Should I Buy?
We currently have a meadow seed mix in stock, the Humleblandning from Pratensis. It includes meadow plants that thrive in sunny, dry to moderately moist locations and attract many insects. That's why we have the meadow seeds listed under the Bird Food section in our webshop - supporting insects is a great way to feed many bird species! If you want seeds for another type of meadow, e.g., for damp sites, shade, or to attract butterflies, check out Pratensis - they have a wide range of excellent seed mixes and also ready-grown meadow plants!
A word of caution if you're looking for meadow seeds in your regular garden store - check what you're getting and don't be deceived by large packages! Some seed mixes labeled as meadow seeds contain only colorful annual garden flowers and are very expensive. While they might look nice, they won't create a hay meadow. Watch Janne's video on buying meadow seeds!
How Large Must a Meadow Be and Does It Have to Be Mowed at a Certain Time?
There is no limit to how small a meadow can be! An initial step could be as simple as preserving a few daisies or cowslips in your lawn when mowing, and then cutting them down later in the fall.
Moreover, there is no upper limit! For the sake of biodiversity and tranquility, larger meadows are better! Also remember that a meadow does not need to be managed with late mowing every year.
How to Maintain a Meadow?
A meadow needs to be mowed every year and the plant material should be removed.
If you don't mow the meadow, it will become overgrown with grass and/or brushwood. We recommend using a scythe, but a mower or a properly sharp clearing saw also work well. A regular trimmer can work but is not the best option. It tends to shred the plants too much instead of cutting them, making it harder to remove the material.
The cut plant material can remain for a few days, but then it's important to remove it. Otherwise, it fertilizes the ground, and the meadow should instead be kept nutrient-poor to benefit weaker meadow plants. You can put the clippings in the compost or use them directly for mulching in the vegetable garden. You can also let the grass dry into hay.
If you have sown seeds in the spring, you might need to water a bit during the first summer. After that, the meadow should manage by itself even if it becomes dry. You should never fertilize the meadow.
There are many old truths about meadows and how they should be maintained, but the most important thing is just to mow and rake it every year. The most optimal time for biodiversity is to mow the meadow in late summer, but if you, for some reason, want to mow parts of the meadow earlier, that's perfectly fine. The essential thing is to have a meadow and make it work for you.
Do you need to learn how to mow with a scythe? Check out our scythe course on Youtube or sign up for a scythe course with Slåttergubben!
Can I manage the meadow as a lawn for a while?
Yes! This is one of the advantages of having a meadow.
If you need more lawn space for a year or a few years, for instance, for playing or hosting a large party, just mow the meadow! Most meadow plants are perennials and handle mowing well. The meadow will return next year or perhaps even later in the summer with new flowers!
What Do I Do with All the Grass?
No matter how you mow the meadow, it's important to remove the grass. One of the great advantages of the scythe is that the grass falls into neat rows that are easy to rake away.
The cut grass is a treasure in the garden! A true resource. It can be used as nourishment and mulch in vegetable gardens and around berry bushes and rhubarb. If you don't have any cultivation areas, create a large grass compost pile that you add to each year with new grass, preferably at the bottom of the meadow (if it's on a slope) so that the compost does not fertilize the meadow.
Other options include burning the grass when it dries out or disposing of it as garden waste. You could also give it away to someone who can use it, for cultivation or as hay for animals!
Can I Get Help to Establish and Maintain My Meadow?
Absolutely! If you live near Linköping, you have the opportunity to hire us for on-site consultation, as well as for the establishment and maintenance of your meadow. If it is on your property, you may be eligible for a RUT deduction.
There are several companies around Sweden that provide mowing services. If they are planting a meadow, make sure to ask which seeds they use. It is very important that they use genuine Swedish meadow seeds. These are available to order from us or directly from Pratensis AB and a couple of other small companies. There are many fake meadow seeds available in supermarkets that should not be used, so be careful about this.
If you are having trouble finding a company near you, I recommend asking a question in the Lienätverket on Facebook. It is a group full of enthusiasts and professionals who are happy to help with solutions!
If you already have someone for gardening who can't establish a meadow or mow it with a scythe, feel free to send them to a course with us!
I Don't Own Any Land but Still Want to Help Create a Meadow!
Great! There are many ways to contribute!
Talk to your local parish! Suggest that it would be lovely to have meadows on some of the areas and emphasize how quiet and peaceful it would be when those areas don't need to be mowed all the time. Additionally, they would of course contribute to increased biodiversity and help achieve their environmental goals. Planting a meadow is also an activity that many parish members, both young and old, can participate in. Many churches have already started the process of creating meadows. Offer your wishes and maybe some practical help!
Talk to your municipality! Suggest that it would be lovely to have meadows on some of those leftover plots of land you see here and there. Emphasize how quiet and peaceful it would be when those areas don't need to be mowed all the time. Additionally, the municipality would of course contribute to increased biodiversity and get closer to their environmental goals. Perhaps you can even volunteer to create and maintain part of a meadow?
Talk to local businesses, private or public! Most larger companies have environmental goals that they want or need to actively work on to achieve, and some of them have access to land. Propose that they set a good example by establishing a meadow, which they can then proudly mention in their reports and marketing! For example, a meadow has been established at Linköping University. Every effort makes a difference!
Talk to your housing association and ask your friend to talk to theirs! Many housing associations have started creating meadows, which are then maintained in-house or with purchased services. Here you have the chance to make an impact! Emphasize how quiet it becomes for all residents who won't have to listen to lawnmowers and leaf blowers constantly, and how important it is for everyone to do what they can for increased biodiversity.
If you live in the countryside, perhaps you can lease a piece of farmland from a neighboring farmer? The best option is an edge of a field that isn't too nutrient-rich to start with. You can then sow genuine meadow seeds along this edge, and perhaps arrange for mowing services with the farmer. An area of 0.2-1 hectares is perfect, depending on your budget. The sea of flowers you can create in this way is fantastic and benefits our pollinators!
Get involved with your local Nature Conservation Association. They often have a meadow they maintain or have maintained in the past where you can join in and help.
Start maintaining a roadside or another neglected area near you as a meadow!
Take a scything course! That way, you're ready to help out where needed and maybe even earn some money from it eventually.
Common Questions and Concerns About Meadows
Establishing a meadow means letting go of some control, which can be a bit daunting. If not for you, then for others who prefer well-manicured lawns where every blade is the same length. Here, we address some common questions and concerns about meadows so that you and those around you can feel a bit more at ease.
How Do I Know If My Meadow Is Good Enough?
Many people picture a meadow as always being a sea of colorful flowers. It can, of course, be like that, but it's not the only type of meadow. Many of the meadows we harvest in nature reserves are quite grass-dominated and don't bloom very much in some places, yet there can still be rare species and rich biodiversity.
If you have sown a meadow, patience is your best friend. It takes time for a meadow to establish itself and become truly beautiful, and that's how it should be. It's easy to be misled by the first year, when tall weeds and flowers like poppies, cornflowers, and corncockle quickly grow up. Fantastic flowers, but they are not meadow plants. It's important to remember that. They are included in meadow seed mixes to ensure that it blooms nicely the first year, but by the second year, these flowers are almost completely gone. Don't panic then; that's how it's supposed to be.
In the second year, grasses begin to dominate, and perhaps daisies and a few other flowers will appear. From the third and fourth years, there tends to be less grass and more meadow flowers, often the yellow rattle. Each year thereafter, the meadow becomes richer and richer in species and flowers!
If your meadow is not sown, it is simply as it is! Be content and happy with the plants that grow there. It doesn't need to be a lush sea of flowers, but each year it will become more diverse, and as mentioned, it can still have a rich biodiversity.
Is it okay to walk in the meadow?
Absolutely! There are some who are very strict about not stepping in the meadow, claiming that it cannot be mowed with a scythe afterwards. But that's not entirely true, so don't listen to them! Of course, there is a limit to how much can be trampled, but naturally, it is allowed to be in your own meadow to explore, discover, and enjoy all the beauty that is there. If it's a large meadow, you can mow or cut areas and paths. Having an outdoor table among all the butterflies is fantastic!
Can the meadow spread weeds?
In the first year, seeds from a sown meadow can spread to areas with bare soil, such as open flower beds and vegetable gardens located right next to it. However, weeds are by definition plants that grow in bare and disturbed soil, so they will not spread to existing lawns.
If someone is very concerned about weeds spreading, they can mow the meadow twice in the first year to prevent any seeds from maturing. This does not have to be a disadvantage for the meadow, as it allows sunlight to more easily reach the low meadow plants. Once the meadow is established, no weeds will spread. Meadow plant seeds might spread, but it is not a problem.
Can a Meadow Become a Haven for Snakes and Ticks?
Of course, there is a higher likelihood of encountering ticks and snakes in a meadow than in a sterile lawn. However, it's not as if they appear out of nowhere just because you establish a meadow. If you've never seen a snake there before, it's highly unlikely that one will suddenly appear just because you have a meadow.
If you find it unpleasant, you can avoid walking in the meadow, just as you would probably avoid walking through other types of vegetation. But that's not a reason to avoid having a meadow. After all, all creatures serve their purpose, so if there happens to be a snake, perhaps it's keeping the mice in check! That's the way life and nature are; you have to take the good with the bad.
How Do I Respond to Those Who Think a Meadow Looks Unkempt?
For some people, it’s so important that everything looks "maintained," and they often get to set the standard. This can include neighbors and passersby. Sometimes unexpected resistance can come even from within the family.
The best approach, of course, is to pre-empt any questions and comments by providing information in advance. Explain that this is a carefully planned measure and outline the steps that will take place.
You can also highlight the many benefits of a meadow and hope that the person sees value in some of them.
Describe how important wild Swedish flowers are for our biological diversity, for young birds, and pollinators. Imported flowers do not fulfill the same functions as our native plants do in our ecosystems. There are so many insects and butterflies dependent on species that are decreasing, so we need to do everything we can to create good environments for them, even right here.
Explain that the meadow will be mowed once towards the end of summer, and emphasize how relaxing it is not to hear yet another machine every week. It's also very economical, since it only requires one intervention per year.
And share that it will take some time, but that it will be beautiful eventually. What could be more of a Swedish summer idyll than a beautiful meadow full of flowers and butterflies? Encourage patience and share your joy and pride in the meadow, for it is fantastic in every way!
Slåttergubben has created many meadows on old lawns, farmland, road verges, and the like. He has extensive experience in collecting wild plants, sowing purchased meadow seed mixtures, and methods for removing unwanted plants.
We help you establish and maintain your meadow!
Mowing garden meadows with RUT deduction.
We charge 550 SEK per hour including VAT, for small jobs that require some travel and setup time, we may need to charge for that time as well. If it's on your property, you can get a RUT deduction if you are eligible for it. This will halve the price. A fee for travel time may be added. Depending on conditions, we mow between 2 - 12 m2/min.
Normally 5 m2/min. For larger mowing assignments, we prefer to work on a pre-agreed compensation - depending on the state of the meadow, the price is approximately 30-45,000 SEK/ha, including raking. Raking accounts for about one-third of the total time - if the grass can be dumped at the edge of the meadow. Otherwise, it takes longer if it needs to be removed by us.
Contact us regardless of where you live! I am based in Linköping but have partners both here and there in the country!
Establishing a meadow
We can assist both practically and by providing advice and support as it often requires navigating among different opinions on whether a meadow should be established or not. There's always someone opposing it. We can come out, talk, motivate, and demonstrate what results can be expected, etc.
From July to the end of September we work full time with the mowing of valuable meadows, mainly on behalf of municipalities and county administrations. The workforce varies between 2-10 people, and together we mow about 50 hectares with scythes. The grass must also be raked up and removed from the meadows.
For just over a month, we set up base camps on the meadows we mow. This is the best time of the year, filled with swimming, camp life, good food, singing, and socializing. Living on the finest meadows during mowing season allows you to fully and completely enjoy them. It's wonderful not to have to commute to work, and we have so much more time for work and other activities when we share household duties within the team.
The Scythe Man Talks Meadow in the Grass Podcast!
Here you can listen to Janne and Jenny, who both work with scything and meadows, as they guest on the Gräspodden and discuss combining meadow and lawn in the home garden.