Can you recommend a shop that I can buy wildflower seeds from, please?
I've looked online but they are quite expensive and only really sell them in 1g or 2g packets. 1g doesn't seem like much! I'd be looking at filling a 6ftx6ft space.
Thanks.
Do you want true wild flowers or a colourful mixed flower display. Lidl sell tubs of mixed flower seeds which last year cost about £1.70. Loads of seeds enough for a huge area, loads of different plants. Lots of colour, but not wild. I don't know when they will have them but they tend to go quite fast.
Wild flowers thrive in poor soil fertility conditions. If the fertility is too high they will not be able to compete with other plants. The area you plan to use should not be very fertile. It is often better to buy plants and transplant them into an established 'meadow'. There are suppliers of seedling plants.
Wild flower seed may be difficult to establish when sown directly so you might wish to try sowing in modules and transplanting after the plants have developed to reduce the competition. Some wildflower seed will need a cold treatment to break dormancy so often seed will lay on/in the soil overwinter before it begins to germinate. Also fresh seed rather than stored seed may grow better for some species. Wild flower seed is available from many of the seed catalogues.
You need to decide if you want to create a wildflower meadow or if you want to create a flower bed full of annual and perenial wild flowers because the choice of varieties will be important.
Whatever you decide to do enjoy it. A true wildflower meadow is very attractive.
http://www.wildflower.org.uk/department/wildflower_meadow_conservation_mixtures/
This one has 10g packets.
Wilkos do a mixed wildflower collection. No idea what all the flowers are (I spotted a crysanthemum) but they were very pretty.
Thanks a lot.
I'm looking for a general wildflower mix.
I did plan to sow direct, but I think I'll jusr use the modules in the greenhouse.
Wilkos do a lovely mix with cornflower, poppy, nigella etc.
http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/pages/childrens-seeds1.htm
Lots there, I have never bought any though, so I dont know much about them.
I've used Nicky's Seeds and was very happy.
I remember some advice about establishing a wildflower garden is to grow the wild flowers in post and plant out when established, because grass will swamp any direct-sown seedlings. But it's still a challenge unless the garden is quite low in nutrients because grass will still out-compete.
If you replaced some of the toopsoil with really horrible subsoil, that would be fine for them. Poppies grow like mad on piles of the stuff.