Page 13 - ALG Issue 3 2016

Feature on...
The Importance of Wild owers
Wild owers are becoming increasingly popular at the moment, and rightfully
so. Not only do wild owers look lovely when they are in full bloom, they are also bene cial to our wildlife. The wildlife that particularly like wild ower meadows or patches are bees, hedgehogs, birds,
small mammals, frogs, dragon ies, butter ies and insects. If you have children or grandchildren, they are bound to
enjoy spotting the many varieties of the wildlife that are now attracted to your garden or allotment. Kings Seeds have a varied selection of wild owers and herbs available, including mixes for hedgerows or corn elds.
If you have not yet got a wild ower patch but would like to start one, you should begin by working out the most suitable spot for your wild owers to grow. The ideal area is
in a sunny spot and you should ensure it
is free of weeds before you begin sowing. Also, if you have very fertile soil you will
need to remove topsoil as wild owers grow best in low fertility soil. You should then be ready to sow whichever seeds you deem most suitable. Wild ower seeds should be sown either in March/April or in September, although autumn is arguably the best season to sow your wild ower seeds. You do not need to cover seeds with soil once they
have been sown, just gently walk over the seeds to ensure they have contact with the soil, give them some water then let them grow naturally. You may need to net the seeds when they have just been sown as birds will think you have left them a feast. The planting technique does not differ
too much between normal seeds or seed balls; both need to be left to grow naturally but seed balls do not need to be walked on top of, just watered and left.
If you sow your wild owers in autumn, you should have a beautiful patch of owers to enjoy in springtime. Due to the weather being so poor this year bees need our help, and although a wild ower patch may be too late for this year, if we plant seeds now, we can help bees keep buzzing next year.
In addition to all of the bene ts above, wild ower patches will also brighten your day. If spring takes a while to brighten up it can become disheartening to see a garden or plot with no bloom, but a wild ower patch is bound to brighten it up. The mixes have a few different varieties of owers
Wild owers can be
bought in seed form or
as seed balls, which
are mainly bene cial
for sowing as some
seeds are quite small
on their own. If you
are buying a wild ower
mix rather than just
one type of wild ower,
there are a few different
options to choose from.
The most common mixes are ‘wild owers for bees’, ‘wild owers for butter ies’ and ‘British wild ower seeds’ to name a few. The difference in the mixes is that they contain varieties that grow well in different habitats or attract different invertebrates. Wild owers for bees typically contain owers that are pollen and nectar rich including corn owers, ox-eye daisies and corn marigold, whereas wild owers for butter ies contain owers that are colours they can see, such as
red, yellow, orange and pink, whilst still containing the nectar that they need to
feed from. The only issue with attracting butter ies to your allotment or garden is that they may breed caterpillars near your fruit or vegetables, so it is important to keep an eye on this.
and are usually different colours so the colourful display will help keep you optimistic even if the weather doesn’t. So why not dedicate part of your allotment or garden to wild owers?
Beth Cowan
Wild owers can be bought in seed form or as seed balls, which are mainly bene cial for sowing as some seeds are quite small on their own.
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