'The idea that wildflowers need nutrient poor soil is a myth' - maybe so, but nutrient rich soil will encourage the growth of coarser 'weeds' and grasses which most wildflowers will struggle to compete with. You can get around this by selecting wildflowers and perennials which are naturally strong growing (pretty 'thugs'). But many species will simply not be able to cling on.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
I treat them as plants and weed out what I don't want.
Hogweed is a challenge especially in grass.
And enchanter's nightshade which I introduced against the advice of the person I cadged it from.
I don't direct sow anything any more. Too much competition.
There are many different soils and habitats in the uk, wild flowers can be found in all of them.
as an example jack by the hedge grown in poor soil is a miserable specimen. Grown as you would grow a border plant it's splendid and a fit food plant for the orange tips
I wanted to give you an update, and ask for some further advice on my patch.
The wild flowers came out wonderfully. The nettles are a pain, but minimal and I pull them up as I see them.
The Bees LOVE it! I can stand there for hours watch 1000s of bees doing their thing; it's a wonderful sight!
So a couple of questions;
When do I mow it? It is now mid-September, and I’m tempted to mow it, but it is still alive so don’t want to do it any harm.
As you can see, it is rather one shade of purple! I got a wild meadow mix, but for some reason the purple flowers thrived, with little else appearing. This was probably due to the time of year that I planted the mix, and the fact I didn’t mow (which I believe I should have done a couple of times to give other less dominating wild flowers a chance). If I threw in some wild flower mix
A bit of my message got lost! Point number two should be;
2. As you can see, it is rather one shade of purple! I got a wild meadow mix, but for some reason the purple flowers thrived, with little else appearing. This was probably due to the time of year that I planted the mix, and the fact I didn't mow (which I believe I should have done a couple of times to give other less dominating wild flowers a chance). If I threw in some wild flower mix now would they appear next spring, or should I wait until spring to sow?
That's borage Dnallov - bees will sell their souls for it ..............
Thank you - I wondered what it was! Well I love the stuff, and also love the bees, so they will be pleased to hear that I'll make sure its there for them for many years to come, but maybe with a tad more variety!
I agree with you that a borage patch is much nicer in every way than a patch of nettles but I take issue with your terminology. What you have done is kill off a bunch of wildflowers (e.g. nettles which have flowers loved by bees and hosts lots and lots of other insects) to plant a transplant cultivated herb from the Mediterranean. I think it is definitely an improvement-- and you can put the flowers in salads or freeze in ice cubes or sugar for cake decorations and it smells lovely and as you say, bees love it. But it is not a wildflower. Nettle is. (Doesn't mean one should tolerate it in their garden though. Plenty of patches in the woods and scrubland and verges for the butterflies to use and I prefer plants that don't hurt me). Borage is also a good concentrator of potassium and can be made into a tea much like comfrey (I think.)
I agree with you that a borage patch is much nicer in every way than a patch of nettles but I take issue with your terminology. What you have done is kill off a bunch of wildflowers (e.g. nettles which have flowers loved by bees and hosts lots and lots of other insects) to plant a transplant cultivated herb from the Mediterranean. I think it is definitely an improvement-- and you can put the flowers in salads or freeze in ice cubes or sugar for cake decorations and it smells lovely and as you say, bees love it. But it is not a wildflower. Nettle is. (Doesn't mean one should tolerate it in their garden though. Plenty of patches in the woods and scrubland and verges for the butterflies to use and I prefer plants that don't hurt me). Borage is also a good concentrator of potassium and can be made into a tea much like comfrey (I think.)
Sorry Watery, but I'm no professional gardener, so the terminology I use might not be spot on! All I know is nettles are ugly and (in my experience) attracts nothing, where as the seeds labelled "Wild Flowers" produce pretty flowers and attracts Bees and butterflies!
I definitely agree with you on both counts. Nettles are ugly and icky and borage is lovely and I've planted it too! I'm glad you like it and the bees will too.
cut it ASAP on a dry day (a rare thing at the moment) leave it for a couple of days for the seed to fall and then compost the cuttings. then in a couple of weeks start running over the area with your lawnmower at the same height as you lawn. Stop cutting in October and wait for next year.
next year some other species will come thru, mine was red and blue in its first year (corn poppies and corn flowers) white in its second year (ox eye daisies) and pink and purple in its third year (Red Campion and knapweed)
cut it ASAP on a dry day (a rare thing at the moment) leave it for a couple of days for the seed to fall and then compost the cuttings. then in a couple of weeks start running over the area with your lawnmower at the same height as you lawn. Stop cutting in October and wait for next year.
next year some other species will come thru, mine was red and blue in its first year (corn poppies and corn flowers) white in its second year (ox eye daisies) and pink and purple in its third year (Red Campion and knapweed)
Thanks Treehugger. I'll get on with that today if it remains dry (IF being the operative word!)
Posts
'The idea that wildflowers need nutrient poor soil is a myth' - maybe so, but nutrient rich soil will encourage the growth of coarser 'weeds' and grasses which most wildflowers will struggle to compete with. You can get around this by selecting wildflowers and perennials which are naturally strong growing (pretty 'thugs'). But many species will simply not be able to cling on.
I treat them as plants and weed out what I don't want.
Hogweed is a challenge
especially in grass.
And enchanter's nightshade which I introduced against the advice of the person I cadged it from.
I don't direct sow anything any more. Too much competition.
There are many different soils and habitats in the uk, wild flowers can be found in all of them.
as an example jack by the hedge grown in poor soil is a miserable specimen. Grown as you would grow a border plant it's splendid and a fit food plant for the orange tips
In the sticks near Peterborough
Hi Guys
I wanted to give you an update, and ask for some further advice on my patch.
The wild flowers came out wonderfully. The nettles are a pain, but minimal and I pull them up as I see them.
The Bees LOVE it! I can stand there for hours watch 1000s of bees doing their thing; it's a wonderful sight!
So a couple of questions;
Thank you in advance - Some pics below!
JV
A bit of my message got lost! Point number two should be;
2. As you can see, it is rather one shade of purple! I got a wild meadow mix, but for some reason the purple flowers thrived, with little else appearing. This was probably due to the time of year that I planted the mix, and the fact I didn't mow (which I believe I should have done a couple of times to give other less dominating wild flowers a chance). If I threw in some wild flower mix now would they appear next spring, or should I wait until spring to sow?
Thank you - I wondered what it was! Well I love the stuff, and also love the bees, so they will be pleased to hear that I'll make sure its there for them for many years to come, but maybe with a tad more variety!
I agree with you that a borage patch is much nicer in every way than a patch of nettles but I take issue with your terminology. What you have done is kill off a bunch of wildflowers (e.g. nettles which have flowers loved by bees and hosts lots and lots of other insects) to plant a transplant cultivated herb from the Mediterranean. I think it is definitely an improvement-- and you can put the flowers in salads or freeze in ice cubes or sugar for cake decorations and it smells lovely and as you say, bees love it. But it is not a wildflower. Nettle is. (Doesn't mean one should tolerate it in their garden though. Plenty of patches in the woods and scrubland and verges for the butterflies to use and I prefer plants that don't hurt me). Borage is also a good concentrator of potassium and can be made into a tea much like comfrey (I think.)
Sorry Watery, but I'm no professional gardener, so the terminology I use might not be spot on! All I know is nettles are ugly and (in my experience) attracts nothing, where as the seeds labelled "Wild Flowers" produce pretty flowers and attracts Bees and butterflies!
I definitely agree with you on both counts. Nettles are ugly and icky and borage is lovely and I've planted it too! I'm glad you like it and the bees will too.
cut it ASAP on a dry day (a rare thing at the moment) leave it for a couple of days for the seed to fall and then compost the cuttings. then in a couple of weeks start running over the area with your lawnmower at the same height as you lawn. Stop cutting in October and wait for next year.
next year some other species will come thru, mine was red and blue in its first year (corn poppies and corn flowers) white in its second year (ox eye daisies) and pink and purple in its third year (Red Campion and knapweed)
Thanks Treehugger. I'll get on with that today if it remains dry (IF being the operative word!)