ONE of the greatest wildlife tragedies in post-war Britain has been the near complete destruction of our wild flower meadows.

The creation of a wild flower meadow has been the single most beneficial and interesting habitat I have created in my own garden.

But it never fails to amaze me that fellow gardeners who have a bird table, bird box or even a wildlife pond in their garden, continue to torture their lawns - using weed-killers to maintain a pure grass turf, mown to within an inch of its life, and woe betide any moss!

Why? It’s a bit like swapping a beautiful painting for uniform green canvas.

If you need persuading try visiting Christopher Lloyd’s wonderful gardens at Great Dixter in Northiam, East Sussex, to see just how attractive a well-maintained wild flower meadow can be.

At its simplest, just holding back on the weed-killer and sparing a week or two of mowing in high summer will allow a flowery break for lawn invaders such as clover, bird’s foot trefoil and self heal.

These flowers are an invaluable source of nectar and pollen to many insects which are really struggling to find food in our increasingly flower-poor countryside.

For those of a more adventurous disposition you could allow another part of the lawn to grow a spring hay crop and enhance the mix of species.

In my lawn I have cowslips, fritillaries, common spotted orchids, knapweed, bird’s foot trefoil, wild red clover, ox-eye daisy, yellow rattle and St John’s-wort growing among the grasses.

In my last garden the combination of hare bells and bird’s foot trefoil was a stunning combination.

I give the lawn its last cut in early February to avoid damaging the fritillaries. Thereafter, I leave a little more uncut each time so that over the summer the lawn tapers more tidily from short to tall grass.

The best place for such a meadow is in a sunny part of the garden. The meadow really draws in the insects, who, in turn, provide food for birds, such as house sparrows, which need protein-rich insects as food for their young.

As the flowers fade in late June, I cut back the meadow and revert to regular mowing again. Even at this stage there can be benefits.

I decided to dry the hay for our children’s rabbit. It was left on our patio to dry and I was amazed by the flocks of birds that descended on it to feed on the seeds - even drawing in a rare corn bunting one year.

Don’t panic if your cut meadow looks dead for a week or two after mowing. After the first rain it is amazing how fast it greens up again. But avoid the temptation to feed it with fertiliser - a sure way to kill off the wild flowers.

There are several ways to create a meadow. If you already have a lawn sown with fine, leaved grasses, such as fescues and bents, you can try adding pot-grown wild flowers to the bit of the lawn you want to grow into a spring meadow, plant fritillary bulbs or apply seed for species such as yellow rattle.

It’s worth being ambitious. For a new garden you can sow meadow mixes, full of wild flowers.

It requires a change of mindset from traditional garden practice but makes an interesting and worthwhile project. Go on, be adventurous!

Brian Banks is a conservation officer with English Nature.