🌼 Flawns: More Than Just a Lawn
L.J.
Tired of spending weekends mowing a patch of grass that guzzles water, needs constant feeding, and gives nothing back?
You’re not alone. That pristine, manicured lawn might look neat—but it’s often a biodiversity desert, high-maintenance, and low-reward. If you’re craving something more vibrant, more sustainable, and frankly, more alive, it’s time to meet the flawn.
A flawn, or flowering lawn, replaces or mixes traditional grass with low-growing flowering plants. It’s a beautiful, low-mow alternative that supports pollinators, improves soil health, and brings seasonal colour to your garden—all while cutting down on effort and inputs.
🌿 What Is a Flawn?
Unlike a conventional lawn that relies on uniform grass and frequent mowing, a flawn embraces diversity. Think clover, thyme, daisies, selfheal, and creeping speedwell—all low-growing plants that thrive together, creating a soft, flowering carpet.
These lawns can be walked on, admired, and enjoyed by both humans and wildlife.
🌼 Why Choose a Flowering Lawn?
Flawns offer a host of ecological and practical benefits:
🐝Boosts Biodiversity
Flowering lawns attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, supporting local wildlife and plant health.
🏥 Improves Soil Health
Many flawn species are nutrient fixers, helping to enrich the soil naturally.
✂️ Reduces Maintenance
Once established, flawns require less mowing, watering, and fertiliser than traditional grass lawns.
🖼️ Visually Appealing
With seasonal blooms and varied textures, flawns offer year-round interest and charm.
🌾 Supports the Local Ecosystem
A flawn acts as a mini meadow, improving air quality, water retention, and habitat connectivity.
🌸 Types of Flawns
There’s no one-size-fits-all flawn. Here are a few popular styles:
🌼Mixed Meadow Wildflower Flawns
Combines grass with native wildflowers to support wildlife.
Examples:
Affiliate disclosure: To keep this guide free and accessible, I use affiliate links where appropriate. If you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission—never influencing the price you pay.
- 🛒 Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- 🛒 Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)
- 🛒 White Clover (Trifolium repens) or 🛒Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
- 🛒 Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) or Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria)
- 🛒 Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
- 🛒 Red Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum)
🛒 Recommended Seed Mixes
Additional Details
Meadow Mixture – Lawns
This mix is ideal for wildflower lawns as it contains slow growing grasses and a range of wildflowers that grow well where the lawn is mown regularly. It contains 20% native wild flowers and 80% grass mix. 20g of seed is enough for 5 square metres.
Additional Details
Economy Meadow Mixture – Spring
This is a mix of 12 native wildflower species and 6 species of grass. The wildflower species in this mix grow on a wide range of soils and all flower early in the season, from April through to the end of June. The meadow should be mown off in about mid-July once the Yellow Rattle has been given the opportunity to seed. It can then be used for animal grazing, maintained at a height of 8-10cm for recreational purposes in the summer, or allowed to regrow giving a repeat flowering albeit less pronounced than in the spring.
The mixture includes 20% wild Flower and 80% Grass.
🌿Herbal Flawns
Uses low-growing herbs to create a sensory rich floral lawn.
Examples:
- 🛒 Creeping Thyme (Thymus praecox)
- 🛒 Lawn Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)
- 🛒 Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)
🦋 Pollinator First Flawns
Prioritises nectar-rich plants to support pollinators.
Examples:
- Daisies (Bellis perennis)
- 🛒 Bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
- Creeping speedwell (Veronica filiformis)
- 🛒 Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)
- Meadow buttercup (Rununculus acris)
- 🛒 Rough Hawkbit (Leontodon hispidus)
- 🛒 Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare)
🛒 Recommended Seed Mixes
Additional Details
🌼 Economy Meadow Mixture – Bees and Butterflies
This is an economy mix of 17 native wild flower species and 6 species of grass. The wildflower species in this mix grow on a wide range of soils and flower between mid-June and mid-September, making sure as many flowers as possible are available to the bees and butterflies at their most active time of the year.
This mix contains 20% wild flowers and 80% grass.
Additional Details
🌼Buglife Pollinator Wildflower Seed Mix BSPOL 100%
From bees and butterflies to beetles and bugs, this floral feast will create a colourful, vibrant and diverse habitat, plus vital food for our critically endangered insects.
- Contains 14 perennial wildflower species selected by Buglife conservation specialists to maximise benefit to pollinators, insects and invertebrates.
- Provides a vital pollen and nectar food source and an accommodating wildlife habitat.
- Creates a permanent and long-lasting meadow or wildflower area, suitable for borders, landscaping, meadows and more.
- Contains native wildflowers produced from provenance-assured, wild UK meadow collections.
- 10% of all sales proceeds from this product is donated to Buglife, to support their vital work in the protection of pollinators and invertebrates across the UK.
- Sow in spring in autumn at 3 grams per sq/m – 1kg covers 330sq/m
✂️ Low-Mow Grasses and Flawns
Focuses on slow-growing species that thrive with minimal cutting.
Examples:
- Red Fescue (Festuca rubra)
- Common Bent (Agrostis capillaris)
- 🛒 Smooth Meadow Grass (Poa pratensis)
- 🛒 Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- 🛒 Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
- 🛒 White Clover (Trifolium repens) or 🛒 Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
🛒 Recommended Seed Mixes
Additional Details
🌼Low Growing Wildflower Meadow Seed BS12P 100%
Use this mixture to create a permanent wildflower meadow of mostly low growing species. Ideal for flowering lawns or road verges.
- Contains a blend of twenty low growing wildflower species, including Forget Me Not, Yellow Rattle, Cowslip, Bladder Campion and Ragged Robin.
- Formulated to contain only lower growing species, ideal for areas where it is important not to restrict visibility such as alongside roads.
- Contains native wildflowers produced from provenance-assured, wild UK meadow collections.
- Sow at 3 grams per sqm – 1kg sows 330 sq/m
Additional Details
🌼Flowering Lawn Meadow Mix | Meadow Grass & Wildflower Seed Mix
Our mix of 12 native bee-friendly wildflower species including meadow buttercup and yarrow, and 7 grass species, to create a flower-rich meadow lawn perfect for pollinators, caterpillars and other wildlife.
Create a beautiful biodiverse meadow lawn with these grasses and wildflowers which all tolerate close mowing to a height of about 5cm for most of the year. Simply stop mowing to allow the plants to bloom and enjoy an abundance of native wildflowers.
All our wildflower meadow mixes comprise 20% wildflowers and 80% grasses. The native wildflower seed in our mixtures is sourced from stock grown in the wild in Britain. It is then multiplied up commercially and mixed and packed in the UK so you can be confident you are buying native British wildflower seed.
For best results sow in the spring from March through to May, or in the autumn, from late August through to October. Best sown onto a bare seedbed.
🌾 Want a Little Bit of Wild?
Letting grasses grow long—even in patches—adds a touch of wildness that benefits both your garden and its visitors.
Taller grasses create shelter for insects, frogs, and small mammals, while allowing native species to self-seed and flourish naturally. Longer blades also improve water retention and soil structure, reducing runoff and supporting a healthier microclimate. Whether it’s a border strip or a tucked-away corner, a little wild goes a long way.
🌻 Taller-Growing Wildflowers: Add Height and Habitat
If you’ve got space to spare or want to create visual layers, taller wildflowers bring drama, movement, and ecological depth to your flawn. These species rise above the low-growing carpet, offering nectar-rich blooms and seed heads that support birds, bees, and beneficial insects.
🌾 Design Tips
📍 Placement: Use taller species in borders, central islands, or behind low-mow zones
✂️ Mowing: Leave these areas uncut until late summer to allow flowering and seed dispersal
🌼 Recommended Taller Wildflowers for UK Flawns
Greater Knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa)
Height: 60-90 cm
Benefits: Rich nectar source, loved by bees.
🛒 Just Seed: Greater Knapweed ~£1.65
Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense)
Height: 40-80 cm
Benefits: Hardy, violet blooms, supports pollinators
🛒 Just Seed: Meadow Cranesbill ~£1.59
Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca)
Height: 60-120 cm
Benefits: Nitrogen fixer, climbing habit, purple flower
🛒 Just Seed: Tufted Vetch ~£1.95
Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis)
Height: 50-100 cm
Benefits: Supports butterflies, soft lilac flowers.
🛒 Just Seed: Small Scabious ~£1.80
Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)
Height: 60-100 cm
Benefits: Umbel flowers, seed heads feed birds
🛒 Just Seed: Wild Carrot ~£1.80
Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Height: 30-60 cm
Benefits: Long-lasting blooms, attracts hoverflies and bees.
🛒 Just Seed: Oxeye Daisy ~£1.80
🌻 Why You Should Mix Taller Wildflowers with Grasses
🤝 Companion planting with grasses like Red Fescue (Festuca rubra) or Common Bent (Agrostis capillaris) helps taller wildflowers thrive by:
- Providing structural support:
Grasses act as natural scaffolding, helping upright wildflowers stay vertical and resist wind damage - Creating visual cohesion:
The soft texture of these grasses blends with wildflower stems, giving a meadow-like appearance without looking patchy - Improving soil stability:
Grass roots bind the soil, reducing erosion and improving water retention—especially helpful in mixed-height flawn zones - Extending bloom time:
Grasses fill gaps when wildflowers fade, maintaining visual interest and habitat cover year-round - Reducing weed pressure:
Dense grass growth helps suppress unwanted species without crowding out your chosen wildflowers
This mimics natural meadow dynamics and makes your flawn more resilient, especially in exposed or sloped areas.
🛒 Recommend Supplier
Additional Details
🌼Meadow Mixture Tall Herbs
This mix has been chosen for the height. The mix should be grown in areas that can be viewed from the distance and the smaller species might go unnoticed. This mix is also suited to fertile soils. It contains 20% wild flowers and 80% grass mix.
5g of seed is enough for 1 square metre.
Available in 5g, 25g, 50g and 100g.
Additional Details
🌼General Purpose Meadow Mixture
This mix contains 20% wild flowers (15 species) and 80% grass (6 species). The mix thrives in various soil types, even those with higher fertility levels. It’s created to offer a balanced composition without being overly costly, making it an excellent choice to start a meadow. Once annual mowing has lessened the soil’s fertility, it becomes suitable for introducing additional species.
5g of seed is enough for 1 square metre of land.
Additional Details
🌼General Purpose Meadow Mixture
This mix contains 20% wild flowers (15 species) and 80% grass (6 species). The mix thrives in various soil types, even those with higher fertility levels. It’s created to offer a balanced composition without being overly costly, making it an excellent choice to start a meadow. Once annual mowing has lessened the soil’s fertility, it becomes suitable for introducing additional species.
5g of seed is enough for 1 square metre of land.
Additional Details
🌼100% Wildflower Seed Mix
An ideal mix of wildflowers to improve a mini-meadow. Great for bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
19 of the 21 varieties included are listed on the RHS Plants For Pollinators list.
It’s best sown in late summer/early autumn.
20g – Recommended coverage 10 square metres.
Wildflowers:
2% Agrimony, 6% Birdsfoot Trefoil, 2% Bladder Campion, 2% Common Knapweed, 4% Corn Chamomile, 6% Corn Cockle, 9% Cornflower, 6% Corn Marigold, 4% Cowslip, 6% Field Scabious, 6% Forget Me Not, 8% Foxglove, 7% Meadow Buttercup, 2% Ox Eye Daisy, 6% Poppy, 2% Ragged Robin, 6% Red Campion, 3% Sainfoin, 6% Salad Burnet, 3% White Campion, 4% Wild Clary
🌱 Getting Started
Creating a flawn can be as simple as overseeding your existing lawn with flowering species or starting fresh with a tailored seed mix.
Choose plants suited to your soil type, light levels, and foot traffic.
📆 Autumn and Spring are ideal times to sow
💡 Final Thought
A flawn is more than a lawn—it’s a statement of care, creativity, and ecological responsibility. Whether you’re transforming a front garden, schoolyard, or community space, flawns invite nature in and make every square metre count.
Affiliate Disclosure: To keep this guide free and accessible, I use affiliate links where appropriate. If you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission—never influencing the price you pay. Every recommendation is based on hands-on experience or thorough research tailored to UK gardens.