With intensive farming methods, loss of natural habitats, and the Bee population's decline, one way of encouraging Bees and Butterflies to your garden is to consider planting a wildflower area. Whether you have plenty of outside space or just a little corner of your garden that's bare earth and needs a little TLC, you can encourage Bees and pollinators by planting some native wildflower seeds and brighten up your garden at the same time.
The best time for planting Wildflower seeds is from February to May, and you can even create a pretty window box if you don't have a garden. We include a packet of Organic Wildflower seeds with every purchase you make through to the end of May. Instructions for planting are on each pack, and handy information is contained in the blog article published below. Select which seed type you prefer, enter your choice in the notes section at the checkout, or drop me an email.
1 Butterfly Seed Mix
2 Colourful Annuals Seed Mix
3 Honeybee Seed Mix
4 Woodland Garden Mix
Wildflowers for Bees & Butterflies.
Blog article reproduced by kind permission of Colin Reader
https://www.wildflowerlawnsandmeadows.com/blog/wild-flowers-for-bees-and-butterflies/
Original post dated 14th January 2014.
There are various types of wildflower area one can create, but the easiest, quickest and most colourful is an annual wildflower area. These are great because our native annuals germinate quickly and flower from spring till the end of the summer. They attract a myriad of fascinating insects, bumblebees, honey bees, solitary bees, hoverflies, butterflies, as well as some moths; they are such a valuable resource because they supply nectar right through the year and word soon gets around the insect world as to where to find a good meal every day!
Hoverfly taking nectar from a Corn Marigold
The best time to sow annuals is between late February and the end of May. Scatter the seeds onto loose, bare soil; a sunny flower bed is ideal. If your soil is heavy clay, I suggest spreading a top dressing about 1 inch thick of multi-purpose compost mixed with one-third sharp sand. This creates an excellent germination bed that warms up quickly but is not too thick to prevent the seedlings from getting their roots into the firmer ground beneath as they get bigger. This is useful because the compost layer tends to be quite light and dries out easily, whereas the firmer ground beneath will not. To speed up their growth, water the seeds/seedlings in the evening during dry weather, and you will have them growing and flowering a lot quicker.
Garden designer Helen Billetop using my seed for a lovely effect
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