The wild flower picture thread.

[Mesterh]

Just some random ones.

 

I guess the yellow one is butter cup but thats the limit of my knowledge on flowers.

 

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[arbclimber]

Creeping buttercup I reckon.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Bees love red clover Red Clover (trifolium pratense) wildflower, good for bees

 

Might have been an idea to have left a monolith 6ft tall close by and drilled it with a 10mm bit to provide nesting sites for solitary bees too!

 

just some thoughts!

 

Cheers Tony, got quite a list now

 

They like a nice neat site, I think monolithes might be pushing it

 

I take it I plant all these in spring late winter ?

 

All the strip has been dug over and I'm going to leave it for a month then glyphos whatever sprouts to kill off any weeds that were prevelant in there then grass a week after that

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

OH NO, have i taught you NOTHING! Glypho, come on deano, you just said you wanted a WILDFLOWER BED for bees!

 

just dig it over, remove as much root as poss and then seed it with a wild meadow mix from one of the natural nurseries!

 

Come on deano, jump on the holistic wagon!

[Dean Lofthouse]

It is absolutely full of cr@p Tony, ivy and there was even a bit of Jap knotweed which I think I have sorted, it really does need cleansing, honest

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

It is absolutely full of cr@p Tony, ivy and there was even a bit of Jap knotweed which I think I have sorted, it really does need cleansing, honest

 

Oh O.K, though a pig and a goat fenced in for a week would have sorted it!

 

LOL:lol:

[Giles Hill]

Sounds a nice idea Dean, my best advice would be to select a group of plants that will thrive together in the area, rather than using a random mix of your new favourite plants - if it's shady, go for woodland plants, if it's sunny use meadow plants, otherwise the woodland plants will struggle if its too hot and the meadow ones won't do so well in the shade.

 

Also it'll look better if it relates to the surroundings - have you got any pics of the area?

[Dean Lofthouse]

Haa, good advice Giles.

 

The area is not in shade because the trees will only be young. I may have to plant meadow till they get established.

 

I have no photos but it is where any big wigs park if they come to visit, and there is a 5ft brick wall running the full length which provides a bit of shelter and acts as a heat sink.

[Giles Hill]

This publication might be handy:

 

NE29 - Plants for wildlife friendly gardens

 

The plants are listed in different categories, so you can get an idea of what might be suitable for your area. It's also worth bearing in mind maintenance; taller plants can be handy because they grow bigger than the 'weeds' and drought-tolerant plants might be worth a look from your description of the site.

 

A lot of cultivated plants are beneficial to wildlife - the publication refers to some of these. These might look better in the 'walled border' context you are describing.

 

If it's a border, rather than a grassland area, you don't need to overdo the number of species - a few well chosen ones will have a stronger, more cohesive appearance.

 

I've made a few assumptions there, but if it's hot and dry, then a mixture of these would look good together:

Cynara cardunculus

Cephalaria gigantea

Echium piniana

Solidago virgaurea

Lysimachia vulgaris

 

Most of those are proper man's plants too!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

"proper mans plants" No pansies then! lol