Number 14 in Angela's top 20 wild flowers: red campion

red campion grown from seed

At last! The small area of wild flowers that I started from seed this time last year has produced its first bloom.  The most beautiful red campion I've ever seen. Red campion of course, also features in the seed mix for Meadowmat and there is definitely a campion-esque plant running up to flower in my Meadowmat patch...but it may turn out to be white or bladder campion.

The latin name for red campion is Silene dioica.  Apparantly it's named after Silenus, the merry drunken woodland god from greek mythology.  He's a merry fatman with a horse's tail who when captured by mortals can reveal important secrets.  The second part of the plant name is dioica, which means "two houses" and refers to the fact that each red campion plant has flowers of only one sex - in other words, you need at least two plants to make seed.  Good job I've got plenty then!

According to my Readers Digest book of wild flowers, this little beauty will flower right through to October....perfect then for supplying pollen and nectar to the bees and butterflies that I hope will visit my garden IF the sun ever comes out.

red campion hanging its head in the rain

red campion growing wild in woodland somewhere in North Norfolk

Number 15 in Angela's wild flower top 20, The Foxglove

foxgloves in Thetford Forest

I took these photo's a couple of years ago on one of my walks through ThetfordForest.  This is in a part of the forest not far from my home ... us locals call it "top of Old Brandon Road"....where the trees had been felled in the previous autumn allowing an absolute myriad of wild foxgloves to really show off.  Normally, they're hidden in the woods.

I'm amazed at the variations in colour and I just love the combination of foxgloves and grasses. I also love the way that bumble bees completely disappear inside the flower, only to reverse out again a few moments later.

sideways foxgloves - my browser isn't playing nicely tonight

Apparantly every part of the foxglove is poisonous  so I suppose I've taken a bit of a risk in introducing it to my garden where the grandchildren play.  Neither of the boys has ever shown signs of wanting to eat flowers, but nevertheless they will be closely supervised around the plants.

The foxglove is more of a woodland plant than a meadow plant, consequently it isn't included in the standard seedmix for Meadowmat; but as luck would have it, Robert, our Production Manager has been experimenting with a woodland meadow mix which includes....foxgloves.  I'm hoping he'll let me trial some of it in my garden, against a north facing hedge where it's a bit shady, so this evening I've baked a chocolate cake to take into work tomorrow.  Don't know if that's a good thing or not....my cooking might just be my downfall.

Growing wild flowers from seed and my 16th favourite wild flower, the Cowslip, Primula veris

My next blog post is going to be a comparison between establishing wild flowers from seeds and using wild flower matting but for now, here is my 16th favourite wild flower, the cowslip.

I was having a bit of a de-weeding session in my garden at the weekend and came across a little patch of cowslips that I had forgotten I'd planted under the Cornus bush.  A couple of years ago, I put in three plants, now there must be at least five times that many.  That's the beauty of perennial wild flowers, they just keep growing and multiplying year after year.

cowslips

Rumour has it, that St Peter dropped the keys to Heaven and the first cowslip sprang from where they fell.  Rumour also has it that the word "cowslip" came about because the seeds like to germinate in the remains of cow pats - or cowslop.  Either way, the sight of a field full of cowslips in the spring never fails to chase the winter blues away.
Cowslips are included in the Meadowmat seed mix.  So far I haven't spotted any signs of them germinating but like most wild flowers, they can be slow to show themselves.  They definitely need a frost on them before they'll spring into life, so maybe in April 2013, once the plants have matured enough to flower, I'll have some more lovely nodding yellow blooms in my garden.  I'm told they make good wine, but I think they give more pleasure in the field than they ever could in a bottle.

Angela's top 20 wild flowers; Number 17 is Clover

Red clover, one of the first wild flowers to bloom in spring,
this picture was taken in April 2011

Red clover is perhaps one of our most recognisable wild flowers here in the UK.  It's distinctive trefoil leaf  has been borrowed by Girl Guides all over the world to symbolise their three part promise, and the hope of finding that elusive four-leaved clover has had many a child grovelling about on their knees.  It's also a blessed curse in my lawn; blessed because it stays green in the summer and doesn't need as much mowing as grass; cursed because it is forever thwarting my attempts at producing a velvety sward.

Clover flowers are rich in nectar and nourish bees from late spring through to early autumn, they're especially important to bumble bees awakening from hibernation and looking for a hearty breakfast because clover pollen is high in protein.  That's one of the main reasons that red clover (Trifolium pratense) is included in the seed mix for Meadowmat

Bumblebees are in decline, mainly because they're aren't enough of their favourite flowers available to feed them...remember, bumblebees don't make honey, their lavae feed on pollen. Bumblebees really like pollens from the legume family of plants, that's clovers, vetches, peas and beans because they're rich in essential nutrients. 

Why should we mind that bumblebees are in decline? well, if you're into growing your own veg, or if you're a farmer, you'll know that bumblebess are the ones that help to pollinate almost all of the fruit, peas and beans that we eat, and many of the veggies too.  A world without bumblebees would be a world without  baked beans or apple pie.......or scrumpy! It doesn't bear thinking about!

So if you want to help bees and other pollinating insects.......grow some clover!

Using Wild Flowers in Garden Design

Sarah Raven's excellent TV program on wild flowers and pollinators last night was an inspiration.  But how can we bring more wild flowers into the garden and still have it looking good all year round?

 Maxine Tricker is a garden designer based in Hertfordshire who has a passion for wild flowers.  Read on to discover how she incorporates wild flowers into her designs.

One of Maxine's wild flower areas

It’s not so much... ‘I suppose we could stick some wild-flowers in this spare piece of ground in your garden’, but more... ‘where can we squeeze some wildflowers in to compliment or enhance the overall design’ !

I’ve noticed an increase in requests for a ‘wild area’ in design for about the past year or so... or perhaps it’s my influence as I ‘plant the seed’ early on in discussions ! I do like to squeeze a few wild-flowers in where I can !!

For the past few years I have experimented with wild-flowers, in different forms, in my own garden and have been fortunate to have had clients keen to include wild-flowers in their garden too –  a different choice of product depending on the area and their budget.

If cost is not an issue, my preference is wild-flower matting (Meadowmat) enhanced with wild-flower plugs.  Meadowmat is a great product – you need to clear the area of perennial weeds, level the soil a bit... then just bung it down ! OK maybe take a little more finesse than that.. but as long as there are no major air-gaps it will root through the membrame and do it’s stuff and cover the ground and that means NO WEEDS !! Excellent ! 

But... it is mainly grasses (which do look great !) and in the first year or so the ‘flowers’ can be few or far between... so adding a few extra flowers of your choice just gives it that bit of an extra ‘wow’ ...  and a personal touch too ! 

Saying that... I have the tiniest piece of meadowmat (my sample) .. and I was blown away by the wild carrot that appeared. It was so impressive !! Wildflowers and grasses are effected by soil fertility – the grasses love the good stuff.. but the wild-flowers need poor soil. So treat it mean ... and no feeding !!

So how or where could you use wild-flowers in your garden ?

If you have a separate area of your garden as a designated ‘wild’ area that’s great.. you can add a log pile and surround it with berry bearing shrubs ... for a wild-life haven !

Or you can ‘sneak’ some wild-flowers in....

meadowmat just before flowering

I like to use Meadowmat at the bottom of a lawned garden... the smooth lawn ending with the rough grass  - looks great ! And easier to cut too... just mow along the edge, no trimming required ! If your lawn goes all the way to the fence or a hedge.. this is a great way of softening the gap and can be a more cost-effective option than shrubs etc. It also looks good around the edge of a lawn.. filling the gap between the grass and the planted border.. so just mow round the edge and no trimming !!

I have also used Meadowmat on a slope where the soil is not stable enough for planting... you need a few pegs to hold it in place (although it’s a heavy product, so won’t move too far !) This will hold back the soil perfectly and it’s interesting to see how the grass grows upright and some of the wild-flowers hang down the bank.. so again gives a different look.  

Wild thyme growing naturally in Thetford forest

The  wild-flower  I use most of all is ‘Wild Thyme’ –  this is creeping thyme so not the woody type you generally buy as a herb for cooking. I buy this by the tray of 100 plugs... and always have a few around, just incase !

It’s great as a lawn edging, to fill the gap between grass and gravel, as an in-fill between stepping stones or slabs.... or even as a small ‘Thyme Lawn’ ! I do like creeping thyme J

So what about wild-flower seeds ? I’ve had some good and not-so-good (bordering on a bit scarey) experiences with seeds. I would suggest that you are cautious in your exuberance of scattering seeds – do stick to the recommended quantity you need for a measured area as they tend to germinate very well ! (they’re not called wild-flowers for nothing !!) So don’t double up, or triple-up on the qty even though they are cheap ! And do mix sand with the smaller seeds to help with an even spread.

plug plants and seeds mixed

I had a fairly large area (6m x 10m approx) which I planted with about 200 plugs and then added a mixed annual seed to give it a bit of ‘umph’ in the first year ! Well it certainly did that... as I also used a much larger quantity than recommended (as requested by my clients) ... then I started to panic as the wildflower plugs were slowly swamped by the annuals ! Eek !! It looked fantastic for a while... but it took me hours (or more like days) to remove the monster plants before they self-seeded.. and so much plant waste to dispose of ! I won’t be making that mistake again !

Cost is a major input when choosing which wild-flowers I select.. .. Meadowmat, plants, plugs or seed..    but I also take into account the preparation time and maintenance to keep the area looking good.  

Here’s my thoughts on the different options I use :

Meadowmat

Meadowmat – Cost is quite high, but soil preparation and maintenance is fairly low. Needs one or two trims in the autumn depending on the growth rate of the grasses. Has a reasonable selection of wild-flowers, but it’s a bit pot-luck !

Plants – many wild-flowers are available as small plants (1 litre pots or larger) . Great for using in a mixed border where plugs are too small, but cost is high compared to plugs.

Plugs – Wild-flower plugs are great !! Cost effective and a huge choice of wild-flowers... specific to soil type, sun or shade and even rabbit-proof ones !  There is perhaps too much choice and can be quite daunting to choose.... but you can get mixed trays like a ‘Butterfly’ mix or all blue flowers. Lots of choice ! J

Cost is OK – I think very good value, but soil does need to be prepared well, and if planting more than 100 plugs can be quite tedious (although there are special planting tools you can hire !) – and of course you will need to keep on top of weeding. If you let the weeds grow up too big, then weeding can be a big multi-choice question paper ! You know when you have the answer wrong... when you pull up a plug ! Ooops !! ... Yes I have got a few wrong answers !

If you plant the plugs in groups, then this gives you a better chance of working out which is plant and which is weed before you get it wrong. With 30 or 40 plugs it should be easy enough... but when you have 200 or so it can be quite confusing! Plugs in Meadowmat... means no weeding J

Seeds – Of course, these are by far the cheapest to buy and again a huge selection of plants to choose from, and ready mixed packs also available. You need good soil preparation again, as for the plugs, and lots of weeding ! And unless you know what each seedling looks like... then weeding can be a challenge.  For a larger area, say over 50m2 – it would be not be practical to weed, so some of the more vigorous plants would be a better choice, as they are likely to outgrow the weeds.

Either collect seeds or allow them to self-seed before trimming back in the autumn, or leave the plants to die down over winter. It depends on the area and what it’s used for.

I hope this gives you a few ideas for your own garden, and perhaps using my experience to help you choose the right product for you.

Visit Maxine's website at http://www.maxyourgarden.co.uk/http://www.maxyourgarden.co.uk/

Angela's top 20 wild flowers; Number 19 is Meadow Saxifrage

I don't know quite why Meadow Saxifrage, or Saxifragia granula is all the way down at number 19, it really deserves to be in the top five of my favourite wild flowers, along with all the other 37 species I like so much.

Saxifragia granulata growing in Enviromat sedum matting

Meadow Saxifrage is on the favourites list because it's just the prettiest, delicate-looking but resiliant little plants to flower early in the year and it always marks the arrival of springtime on the Enviromat field.  

The family name Saxifrage means "stone breaking" because these plants are happy on poor, stony ground in exposed places which in turn, makes them really well suited to green roofing.

Flowering from April - June, these beauties are a source of nectar for butterflies and bees coming out of hibernation.  They're just exquisite!