The Wildflower Path (gouache style)

Wildflower meadows were once a common part of the British countryside, cut for hay each summer. The charity Plantlife estimates that around 97 per cent of them have been lost since the 1930s. Many gardeners now let part of the lawn grow long, mowing a path through it, and a mini meadow can appear within a season. The longer grass shelters insects, and the mown path shows it's meant, not neglected.

Meadow flowers do best in poor soil, which stops grasses taking over. Let the grass grow from spring, keep the path mown every week or two, and make the main cut between late July and September, once flowers have set seed. Leave the cuttings for a few days to drop their seed, then rake them off so the soil stays lean. Sowing yellow rattle in autumn helps, as it weakens grasses. Plug plants of knapweed or oxeye daisy can go in during autumn or spring.

A mown path curves through a meadow of daisies and knapweed. Both flowers are out together, as they are in summer, when a meadow is at its fullest. The curve hides where the path ends, which is what makes it tempting to follow, and it's the mowing that turns long grass into somewhere to walk.