Читать книгу Your Wildlife Garden - Jackie Bennett - Страница 12

Many native species are not yet available as pot-grown plants in garden centres. This means that there is no option but to grow some varieties from seed which is more readily available. You will need to order from one of the wildflower specialists (listed on p140), or check out the seed packet displays in supermarkets and garden centres.

Annual flowers are particularly easy to grow and they don’t necessarily have to be native as long as they are colourful and nectar-rich. Night-scented stocks, cornflowers, candytuft, snapdragons and sunflowers will attract insects and therefore increase the range of birds that visit the garden. Half-hardy annuals and biennial plants can also be raised from seed and incorporated in borders, where they will act as a magnet to summer bees and butterflies.

If space is a problem, hardy and half-hardy annual seeds can be sown directly into large pots, where they can be left to grow on to full size. The pots can then be moved around the patio to create instant colour.

FLOWER SEEDS

HALF-HARDY ANNUALS African marigold (Tagetes erecta) N, B French marigold (Tagetes patula) N, B Heliotrope (Heliotropium) N Petunia N Tobacco plant (Nicotiana) N

HARDY ANNUALS Candytuft (Iberis umbellata) N Common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) B, H, Nat Corncockle (Agrostemma githago) N, Po, Nat Corn chamomile (Anthemis arvensis) N, Nat Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) N, B, Nat Larkspur (Delphinium consolida) B, Po, Nat Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) N Mignonette (Reseda odorata) N, C Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) H, C Night-scented stock (Matthiola bicornis) N, M Poached egg flower (Limnanthes douglasii) B, H Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) B, H Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) N, B, S Virginia stock (Malcolmia maritima) N, B

BIENNIALS Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) B, H, M Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica) N, B, Nat Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) B, Po, Nat Great mullein (Verbascum thapsus) B, Nat Sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis) N, Nat Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) N Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) N, B, S, Nat Wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri) N, Nat