May 08, 2019

BRING BACK THE BIRDS AND THE BEES (WITH OUR NATIVE SEEDS!)

Words by Jessica Peace

We’ve been finding the right native seeds to seduce the birds and bees back to our beds, pots and boxes. We’ve grabbed a load of packets for you and there’s still time to sow a packet or three whether you’ve got your eye on birds, solitary bees or the humble bumble.

So get tossing your native seed and bring back nature!!!

GOING NATIVE

We do love plants from afar, especially to grow in our steamy gaffs but outdoors it’s good to get a little native. Why? Well, there’s a reason why our ‘native’ plants have survived in Blighty so long, and we’re literally talking just after the Ice Age. They were made for our climate, which means they don’t need much extra attention: no whacky growing conditions that have us bending over backwards to keep them alive, using energy intensive fertilisers, mad composts and covert hosepipe sessions during the ban. Also, some of our native species in the animal world rely on our native plants for food and can’t survive on the fancy stuff we keep shoving in. It makes sense really, plants and animals evolving in Blighty since it was a block of ice, all blooming, setting seed and chewing at the right time. It’s up to us now keep that natural rhythm going.

WHO’S NATIVE THEN?

Actually lots of the wildflowers that we bang on about are native and in our packets: foxglove, cornflower, field poppy, musk mallow, clover, wild carrot, self-heal, knapweed… But here’s a few you might not know...

SEEDS TO BRING BACK THE BIRDS

MARIGOLD