Native British wildflower seeds - Bee mix
This collection of native British wildlife seeds is specifically designed to attract bees to your garden. It includes some of the wildflowers most useful for them, and attractive to you, and is grass free.
Why native wildflowers?
It is important to grow indigenous UK plants because they are the basic building blocks for a diverse and fascinating ecosystem. There is increasing evidence that our pollinators prefer native flowers to ornamentals too.
This mix has a wide range of wildflowers and will give quick initial results while working on a variety of types of site. Bumblebees, honeybees, solitary bees and other pollinators like hoverflies, butterflies and moths all have differing needs, but with this mix we've targeted top flowers for a range of bees in particular. We're only now finding out what sort of diet bees prefer, but our solitary bees and bumblebees seem to have a preference for British species of wildflowers like this. Many bee species are struggling, and habitat loss is a key issue for them. Gardens can offer them fantastic havens. You can give them a pesticide free oasis with a range of suitable flowers - in fact, urban bees seems to be healthier than their country cousins. We have followed specialist research to put together this wildflower selection together to help them. It will give a colourful display in your garden too. Because it includes some annuals it will give you flowers in the first year of establishment. After that the perennials will take over, providing a colourful display for years to come.
Why these seeds are different
“Wildflower seeds” are routinely mis-sold in the UK. It’s likely that the majority of “wildflower seeds” you’ll find online or at seed merchants are actually imported or agricultural cultivars, with limited value for wildlife (they look odd too, and live less long). Worse, many “wildflower” seed mixes sold at garden centres include – sometimes exclusively – flowers which are “wild” in foreign and exotic climes.
This seed mix comprises 100% native British wildflowers, sustainably harvested in the UK. This mix contains lots of different types of flowers to make sure they work in a wide range of conditions and provide a long flowering period. It may take up to two years to get the full effect from these seeds as the plants need time to mature.
Species included in this mix:
Centaurea cyanus Cornflower
Glebionis segetum Corn Marigold
Papaver rhoeas Corn Poppy
Lotus corniculatus Bird's-foot trefoil
Myosotis arvensisField-forget-me-not
Echium vulgare Viper's Bugloss
Reseda lutea Wild mignonette
Centaurea nigra Common Knapweed (main picture)
Galium verum Lady's Bedstraw
Knautia arvensis Field Scabious
Origanum vulgare Wild Marjoram
Prunella vulgaris Selfheal
Silene dioica Red Campion
Silene flos-cuculi Ragged Robin
Stachys sylvatica Hedge Woundwort
Trifolium pratense Wild Red Clover
Vicia cracca Tufted Vetch
Vicia sepium Bush Vetch
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5g of wildflower seeds, and an information leaflet that details growing instructions, the species that are included and why native wildflowers are important
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Sow up to 2g per square metre.
If you're sowing onto existing grass you will only need up to 1g per square metre.
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Clear weeds and grasses from the area you want to seed, and rake the ground to prepare it. Then sow the seeds - best done in spring and late summer/autumn. You'll be surprise how low the seeding rate is. A helpful tip is to mix the seed in with sand to bulk it out and make sure you don't overseed. Don't add topsoil or compost, just tread in or roll lightly once sown - don't cover the seeds with soil. Water as necessary and while they get established, making sure the seedlings don't dry out.