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Native British Wild Flowers
maple farm, coach gap lane, langar, notts
before you start - gardening with wild flowers
• gardening with wild flowers - possibilities, help & guidance
• wildlife habitat creation
• seed sowing guide
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Wildlife habitat creation
You may be growing wild flowers merely out of curiosity, but if as one might expect, you have a desire to attract wildlife into your garden it is worth highlighting the types of wild flower gardening where this can best be achieved.

The pleasure that wildlife drawn to the garden brings is not appreciated until experienced - then you realise what you have been missing. Wild flower and wildlife gardening is very addictive, and an increased level of interest in the subject is reflected in the vast number of books now available covering the subject - some of which are available to order on-line - click here for more details


Whilst this guide will enable the beginner to grow wild flowers and become aware of how to get the best from them, we wholeheartedly recommend a book on the subject to give further guidance.

We consider that there are a wide range of situations where wild flowers can be used to enhance the surroundings - these are broadly represented as follows:-


1. Mixture - Mixed with other garden flowers in the herbaceous border, the species of wild flower to use would be mainly biennial or perennial. These will be compatible with the more familiar garden subjects, particularly cottage garden type flowers and herbs.

2. Herbaceous border - Comprising perennial or biennial wild flowers only. Adopt a similar strategy as for planting normal herbaceous perennials, giving consideration to final heights before selecting planting positions.
3. Cornfield annual species - Planted on vacant soils where quick reliable displays of colour are required, cereal plants can also be included to reproduce an authentic ancient corn field. These annuals will produce an outstanding array of colour with a minimum of effort and expense and are extremely popular. They are also very easy for children to grow.

4. Naturalisation of bulbs and plants of meadow species - A spring meadow is appropriate where bulbs are already present and the meadow plants provide colour whilst the foliage of the bulbs withers down. Additional wild bulbs such as bluebell, lesser celandine, wild daffodil and snakeshead fritillary can also be introduced. A fine early display can be obtained under deciduous trees before the soil becomes too dry and shaded. A grassy bank provides a marvelous opportunity for creating a meadow and will be most successful where soil is poor and well drained.
5. Shade - Shaded areas of the garden often present a problem for gardeners. There are a large number of woodland plants which thrive in shady areas and they are amongst some of the most beautiful of our wild flowers.


6. Hedges - Plants alongside and amongst hedgerows are particularly useful to attract wildlife, especially if the hedge is one of native species. Plants for sun, shade or semi-shade should be selected depending on the aspect of the hedgerow: i.e. if the hedge lies east - west, the northerly side will be suitable for shade lovers whilst the southern side will require sun lovers. New hedgerows should be allowed to establish free of competition for two to three years before associated plants are introduced.

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