With its rolling fields of wheat, barley and clover, 700-acre Ashe Warren in Hampshire is, in many ways, a traditional arable farm.

But at the end of the chalky track, where the owner, James Hewetson-Brown, 42, and his wife, Claire, 39, man the office, there are several strange machines moving around, and some giant hangars.

Behind the buildings the land is divided into a series of narrow strips. I peer at the first, which is covered in a multicoloured flecked stuff that has tiny shoots pushing through the surface; the next one looks like a piece of rough grass with a few pink and white flowers dotted through it.

Opposite is an emerald green strip of grass, the kind that appeals to most male gardeners.

But it’s the first two strips — the first and last stages in the farm’s unique wildflower turf that is sold by the roll — that really excite Hewetson-Brown.

He lifts up the edge of the grassy strip to reveal a tightly-knit mat of roots, the result of sowing a 50:50 mix of native grasses and wildflowers on the flecked “compost” — an inert material whose secret formula includes recycled fibres — which sits on netting backed by plastic.

This multi-layered strip is now ready to be rolled up, lifted on to the special machines, and laid on to bare soil in gardens, schools, and in public and private developments. “It looks a bit unkempt now,” says Hewetson-Brown, “but come and see what you can expect once the turf has put down roots.”

We walk on to the farm’s irrigation lake where a great swath of knee-high wildflower meadow, a matrix of white, pink, purple, yellow and blue flowers among tawny grasses, covers the bank.

We start species spotting — ox-eye daisy, knapweed, sorrel, bird’s foot trefoil, vetch, musk mallow, yellow rattle, scabious — and then I notice a bevy of bees feeding on the scabious and damselflies making zig-zag patrols in and out of the flowers.

A breeze gets up and I spot a ringlet (only on the wing for two weeks) resting on a knapweed and the tell-tale orange wings of a male gatekeeper as it takes off from an ox-eye daisy. This strip is now five years old and, even after the driest early summer in the South of England for many years, is the best possible bit of advertising for this eco-friendly turf.

Hewetson-Brown’s father, David, a first-generation farmer, devised the soil-less turf that he originally sowed with grass seed for lawns and golf courses and which, once installed, becomes established much more speedily than conventional turf.

James joined him in 1995 and they experimented with perennial wildflower seeds, primarily as a means of getting higher profit margins. But the first mix was not successful — the grasses were too dominant — and they shelved it. Then six years ago they tried again with a different selection.

Their timing was spot on: gardeners and landscapers were hungry for native wildflowers to provide nectar for insects, especially bees and butterflies, but many who had tried growing them from seed had ended up with clumps of aggressive weeds such as nettles, docks and thistles or had used mixes with annuals that give brilliant colour in the first year or two but then disappear.

The new mix contains 32 varieties of perennial flowers and four grasses, but Hewetson-Brown says he would never expect to see all 32 flowers in one site. “Wildflowers are very fickle,” he explains. “They change from year to year.”

On the lakeside, for example, they saw self heal for the first time in the third year, lady’s bedstraw last year, and meadow cranesbill this year. This shifting palette is one of the exciting things about wildflower plantings and it is why Hewetson-Brown has reduced the amount of ox-eye daisy, which can take over, in the mix.

The four grasses they’ve chosen are low growing, so they don’t crowd out the flowers, and their seedheads provide food for birds.

No patch is too big or small — customers range from the 6,000 sq m planting at the Jubilee River flood alleviation scheme near Eton to those who want a single 1.6m roll to make a small insect-friendly patch outside the kitchen window — but the turf must be laid on bare soil that has had weeds removed and been raked over, and it must have an annual haircut.

It can also be laid on roofs and Hewetson-Brown thinks it offers a more biodiverse alternative to the ubiquitous sedum roof. “If sedum develops bare patches it takes ages to come back, but wildflower turf, as long as it has set seed once, has a natural regeneration.”

• Exclusive offer for Times readers — Wiggy Wigglers, who supply turf from Ashe Warren Farm, are offering a 10 per cent discount on Wildflower turf until July 20. Visit www.wiggywigglers.co.uk and quote “TIMES79” or call 01981 500391 for this and other discounts.

Turf tips

Wildflower turf can be laid on any soil but does better when it is less fertile. Removing topsoil can be a huge undertaking and can have environmental implications, so if the soil is too fertile and the grasses start to dominate, cut the turf in the spring. Otherwise wait until the flowers have set seed in autumn (see “Cutting”, below).

Clear the area of weeds and make a tilth before you lay the turf because compacted soil will make it difficult for the roots to get established. The turf should not need watering if you lay it in winter, but if you lay it from April on, it will need to be watered in.

Quantities

For areas of 300 sq m or more, contact wildflower turf.co.uk. For smaller areas, contact wigglywigglers.co.uk (a single roll, covering 1.25 sq m, costs £25). It’s a good idea to experiment with a small area first.

Cutting

Cut it close every autumn, leaving the stems to dry and the seeds to be shed. Clear away the cuttings with a lawn mower or rake.

Be patient

The turf, which may look quite scruffy when it arrives, usually takes a winter to get established. Wait for spring for the new growth and its first display of flowers.

On the roof

The turf needs a deep substrate and/or an irrigation system. For more advice go to wildflowerturf.co.uk

Explore Gardens

• Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

• Chelsea Flower Show

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers