Take a walk on the Wild Side

British native wildflowers are one way that we can encourage our native insects, bees, butterflies and moths to survive. Wildflowers provide nectar throughout the year and places for eggs to be laid and caterpillars and larvae to grow and thrive. Some more undistinguished looking wildflowers such as the plantains may attract beetles and flies, provide food sources for fritillary butterflies and are followed by seedheads which feed birds.

British wildflowers are available in either mixes or as individual species. Some wildflowers prefer specific habitats and soils, some so well in a wide range of conditions but as with any garden plant - right plant, right place. Some are specific to shade, some to chalk soils so check before you sow that what you buy is suitable to grow.

Annual

Annual wildflowers are short lived, completing their life cycle within a year. The season may be Autumn to Spring/Summer or Spring to Summer/Autumn depending on the plant. Often suited to a wide range of soils used to be common in arable, open areas so they also do better where there are some areas of bare soil.

E.g. Corn Cockle, Cornflower, Corn Marigold, Corn Chamomile, Common Poppy, Field forget-me-not, Night flowering catchfly, Yellow Rattle.

Perennial

Perennial wildflowers can be short or long-lived but continue to grow, flower and set seed for several years.

E.g. Oxeye daisy, Chicory, Common Primrose, Cowslip, Lady’s Bedstraw, Meadowsweet, Ramsons, Birdsfoot trefoil, Bluebell, Ragged Robin and many others.

 Where to sow?

Rewilding projects - for larger areas. These will need good research and ground preparation as well as ongoing management.

A spare corner of the garden to provide habitat.

Open grass as part of no-mow May/June to create a flowering lawn.

Community plots as inspired by the Guerilla gardening group. These may require permissions from local authorities and the group as well as the RHS website have guidelines as to the legal requirements and what to think about.

Making a feature of your favourite by planting as a single variety in a pot. Last year on Gardeners World Rachel de Tame planted a pot with Bird’s foot trefoil to make a lovely yellow focal point.

Time to sow?

As with the right plant, it is worth checking when your wildflowers need to be sown. Usually in the wild, seeds are shed in late summer, autumn and into early winter. Earlier ones may germinate before winter and others will lie dormant until the soil warms up in spring.

Annuals frequently need open soil to germinate and will need soil to be disturbed for the next year's seed to germinate. Yellow rattle is normally sown in situ in autumn or early winter and will germinate the following spring.

Perennials can sometimes be sown throughout the year but may do better being sown in either autumn or spring. Autumn sowings often require a period of cold before germination can take place so seedlings may not be seen until the spring.

However big or small your area of rewilding it will provide essential food for pollinators and a pleasing display of colour.