Anja Murray: Making hay and enjoying a 'messy' garden while the sun shines

For anyone thinking of making a long meadow in part of their land, now is a good time to collect wildflower seeds, especially with all this good weather — and here's a link to a how-to guide with loads of info 

A garden where I've been attempting to make a ‘long meadow’, a wildflower-rich grassland habitat filled with pollinators and other wild insects. Picture: Anja Murray

I've strimmed my garden this past week: it took two hours a day over three days to cut through a quarter of an acre of tall growth, waist-high in places. In recent weeks, the messiness of it all has felt part unnerving, part liberating. And my neighbours seem to be quite accepting — more curious than judgemental.

In June, gorgeous tall pink pyramids of wild orchids decorated the sward.