All you need to know…
Did we see you at an event over the summer and give you some seeds to bring home to Do well in your local space?
Whether its your garden, planter, a verge or outside your workplace, planting diverse mixes of plants can help make space for nature.
In your seed packet you will have received a sample of Emorsgate EMF2 Standard General Purpose Wildflowers, with some extra cornflowers.
Except for cornflower this mixture contains perennial species that are characteristic of traditional meadows and include:
Achillea millefolium – Yarrow
Betonica officinalis – Betony
Centaurea nigra – Common Knapweed
Daucus carota – Wild Carrot
Galium album – Hedge Bedstraw
Galium verum – Lady’s Bedstraw
Geranium pratense – Meadow Crane’s-bill
Leucanthemum vulgare – Oxeye Daisy
Primula veris – Cowslip
Prunella vulgaris – Selfheal
Ranunculus acris – Meadow Buttercup
Silene dioica – Red Campion
Silene vulgaris – Bladder Campion
Vicia cracca – Tufted Vetch
Centaurea cyanus – Cornflower
How to Create a Small Wildflower Patch at Home
These steps are adapted for home gardens, lawns, allotments, and veg patches.
- Choose the Right Spot
Wildflowers do best in:
- Areas with poorer soil rather than rich composted soil
Find a metre square patch of garden that you are happy to turn into a little wildflower patch.
- Prepare the Ground
Best done in late summer before autumn sowing. Best done in spring/summer when the soils are warm. In periods of dry weather you will need to water the sown area.
What to do
- Create patches of bare soil
- If sowing into a lawn you should cut the area very short then Rake hard with a metal rake or scarifier to create some loose soil
- Aim for about half grass and half exposed soil.
- Remove tough weeds
- Dig out perennial weeds such as docks, thistles, or brambles.
The seeds need contact with soil to germinate, so bare patches are important.
- Sow the Seed
Best times: Best done in spring/summer when the soils are warm. In periods of dry weather you will need to water the sown area.
How to sow
- Scatter the seed by hand over the prepared area.
- Do not bury the seed — wildflower seed should stay on the surface.
- Gently press the seed down by walking over it or patting lightly if needed, or running a roller over it.
Avoid covering with compost or topsoil.
- Caring for your flowers.
When your cornflowers have finished flowering, cut them using shears to allow your perennial flowers room to continue growing – they will flower next year!
Helpful Tips
- Avoid fertiliser – rich soil encourages grass, not flowers.
- Removing grass cuttings every time is important.
- Be patient: wildflower meadows improve over several years.
- Small patches work well even in ordinary gardens.
When your wildflowers have grown – why not use the UKCEH e-Surveyor app to see what flourished and send us photos to @weareoxwillow on Instagram or hello@oxwillow.co.uk to show off your #minimeadow!
