How (Any Why) To Plant A Wildflower Garden

Let me take you back in time. Before the First World War. Farming was just as often done with a horse and plough as any machinery. Weedkillers were uncommon. Development rarely happened. Housing estates hadn't been invented.

In this way of farming, while people got the food they needed, wildlife also had a place on the farm. Old barns provided roosts for bats, owls and a range of other birds. Hedgerows grew around fields, providing food and habitats for an assortment of wildlife. And a massive range of wild flowers grew each summer, providing nectar and food plants for an assortment of insects.

Then the world wars happened, and farming began to change. To support the needs of people, hedgerows were torn up. Chemicals like pesticides and herbicides became commonplace. Yields increased. And increased.

But by focusing on just producing more and more food from the same area of land, wildlife was slowly squeezed out. Today, acre upon acre of monocultures clothe the countryside. Corn and barley grow as far as the eye can see. "Nature" is an enemy to be poisoned, shot or made homeless.

And yet there is still space. Many of us have gardens. There are public parks. And derelict land in and around many towns. All of these areas have the potential to at least in part replace the wildlife habitats lost in our countryside.

And *that's* why wildflower meadows are so important. Quite simply because their diversity of plant species mean they support an astonishing variety of different animal species, and because this habitat is in so much danger.

This is one way we can all take conservation into our own hands. We don't need permission to plant some wild flowers. We don't need a grant; it'll cost next to nothing to do. And the pleasure that an area like this can bring you really is impossible to value.

Luckily, wild flowers are designed for difficult conditions. They evolved before artificial fertlizers. They evolved to deal with our weather conditions. So they don't need to be doted over like many of our garden plants.

Many garden centres and seed merchants now sell special "wild flower mixes" consisting of a broad range of native plants. Scatter some around on a spare bit of land, give it a gentle raking and perhaps a little watering and then simply let nature take it's course.

For the real fan, "seed bombs" can easily be made by mixing clay with seeds so that these bombs can easily be used to distribute seeds with the least amount of effort.

Before long, that dusty bit at the end of your garden will be glowing with colour, buzzing with life and you'll be safe in the knowledge that you've done your little but to help the world around you.