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Butterfly and Bee Wildflower and Grass Seed Mixture LWBM 80/20

Beautiful for your garden and beneficial to bees, butterflies and other pollinators. For this flower seed mixture we’ve chosen the best wildflowers for bees and butterflies - a treasure trove of nectar-rich wildflowers recommended by the RHS, along with a wide variety of perennials and grasses to develop a hearty habitat for passing pollinators. The combination of native flowers and meadow grasses will help accomplish the ultimate food source to attract butterflies and bees.

  • This mix contains 26 different flower species and 6 meadow grasses
  • Sowing Rate: 5 grams per sq/m - 1kg covers 200sq/m

Mixture specifications, sowing instructions and maintenance can be found below.

Choose a packsize:
Mixture Specification
  Common Name Latin Name Quantity Flowers Height Type
1 Agrimony, Common Agrimonia eupatoria 0.2% Jun - Sep 50 - 150cm Perennial
2 Borage Borago officinalis 1.4% Aug-Sep 60 - 80cm Annual
3 Clary, Wild Salvia verbenaca 0.8% May - Aug 30 - 40cm Perennial
4 Clover, Red Trifolium pratense 0.6% May - Sep 20 - 60cm Perennial
5 Clover, White Trifolium repens 0.2% Jun - Sep 15 - 20cm Perennial
6 Corn Cockle Agrostemma githago 1.6% May - Aug 50 - 70cm Annual
7 Cornflower Centaurea cyanus 1.2% Jun - Oct 20 - 80cm Annual
8 Daisy, Ox-eye Leucanthemum vulgare 1% May - Sep 20 - 100cm Perennial
9 Foxglove, Wild Digitalis purpurea 0.6% Jun - Aug 50 - 100cm Biennial
10 Knapweed, Common Centaurea nigra 1.2% Jun - Sep 30 - 80cm Perennial
11 Knapweed, Greater Centaurea scabiosa 1% Jun - Sep 50 - 90cm Perennial
12 Loosestrife, Purple Lythrum salicaria 0.2% Jun - Sep 100 - 200cm Perennial
13 Marjoram, Wild Origanum vulgare 0.2% Jul - Oct 20 - 50cm Perennial
14 Meadow Cranesbil Geranium pratense 0.2% May-Aug 40 - 60cm Perennial
15 Musk Mallow Malva moschata 1% May - Sep 20 - 150cm Perennial
16 Poppy, Common Papaver rhoeas 1% May - Jul 50 - 70cm Annual
17 Ragged Robin Lychnis flos-cuculi 0.4% May - Aug 30 - 90cm Perennial
18 Sainfoin Onobrychis viciifolia 1.4% Jul - Sep 30 - 40cm Perennial
19 Scabious, Field Knautia arvensis 1.4% Jul - Sep 30 - 200cm Perennial
20 Scabious, Small Scabiosa columbaria 0.6% Jul - Aug 20 - 60cm Perennial
21 Teasel Dipsacus fullonum 0.2% Jul - Aug 100 - 200cm Biennial
22 Trefoil, Bird's-foot Lotus corniculatus 0.4% Jun - Aug 10 - 40cm Perennial
23 Vetch, Kidney Anthyllis vulneraria 0.4% May - Oct 15 - 50cm Perennial
24 Viper's Bugloss Echium vulgare 0.4% May - Oct 50 - 100cm Biennial
25 Yarrow Achillea millefolium 1% Jun - Oct 20 - 100cm Perennial
26 Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor 1.4% Jun - Sep 20 - 50cm Annual
  Bent, Common Agrostis castellana 4%   50 - 100cm Grass
  Crested Dogstail Cynosurus cristatus 20%   30 - 60cm Grass
  Fescue, Sheeps Festuca ovina 16%   15 - 50cm Grass
  Fescue, Slender Creeping Red Festuca rubra, litoralis 24%   10 - 20cm Grass
  Meadow Grass, Smooth Stalked Poa pratensis 6.4%   30 - 90cm Grass
  Timothy, Small Leaved Phleum pratense ssp Bertolinii 9.6%   50 - 100cm Grass

BSBM Mixtue Contents

Sowing Instructions

Prepare the Ground

Our Butterfly & Bee Wildflower seed mix with meadow grass performs best in low nutrient soils, which haven’t been heavily fertilised in the past. For best results sow into bare soil after clearing all existing plants and weeds from the area.

Cultivate the ground to a depth of 10cm to relieve compaction and create a fine level tilth, free from obstructions (to allow for mowing at a later stage). Finish the seedbed by treading or lightly rolling the area, so that it is firm enough to stand on without leaving indentations.

Where weeds have been prevalent, allow a flush of weeds to germinate and remove these before sowing.

In areas of high fertility, it may be necessary to remove the topsoil and sow into the subsoil. High nutrient soils encourage weeds and fast growing grasses which may outcompete the wildflowers in this mixture.

 

Sowing

This bee wildflower mix should be sown between March and June or September to October. Spring and autumn provide ideal conditions as moisture and warmth are in good supply.

Distribute seed with a handheld spreader, at the recommended sowing rate of 5g/sqm.

For best results mix the wildflower seeds with an inert carrier (such as sharp sand), at a ratio of four parts sand to one part seed (by weight).

This makes it easier to achieve an even distribution and also provides a visual marker, making it easier to see any missed patches and avoid seeding areas twice.

Regularly mix the seed when sowing, as seeds will naturally separate due to variations in size and weight.

Once sown, ensure good ‘seed to soil’ contact by lightly raking to a depth of 0.5cm or rolling the area.

It is also possible to broadcast, drill or hydroseed this mixture for larger or hard to reach areas. However, broadcast spreading throws heavier seeds further so this may impact the distribution and when drilling, the seed must not be buried deeper than 0.7cm.

 

Sowing Rate

The sowing rate of 5g/sqm is designed to produce optimum results. Reducing the sowing rate is likely to result in invasion from weed species.

Increasing the sowing rate generally leads to reduced diversity as the more aggressive species will outcompete slower growing plants.

Maintenance

First Year

This bee friendly wildflower mix contains many perennial species, which can be slow to establish and are unlikely to flower in the first year. Annual species such as Borage, Corncockle, Cornflower and Field Poppy will generally flower in year one. Therefore it is important to control weed and grass growth in year one.

Remove any weeds either by topping, mowing or by hand for smaller areas. Weed growth is common due to the action of disturbing the ground (rather than being caused by contaminated seed mixtures).

The nurse grasses within this mix are the first to grow and require topping or mowing in March and again in May.

Remove all clippings to ensure the grass canopy doesn’t interfere with the germination and spring growth of the wildflowers.

In September / October cut the area to 10cm using a scythe, strimmer or mower, leaving the cuttings for up to a week before removing. This allows them to dry and shed seeds back into the soil. Mow or graze the re-growth through autumn/ winter and again in early spring if needed.

 

Second Year

After twelve months the sward should be well established. Simply follow the same cutting pattern (in March and September/October). Avoid cutting from mid spring to summer to ensure best flowering results.

As an ongoing process, observe and remove any weeds which invade the area.

Over time, some species within the mixture may become more dominant due to environmental factors and natural selection. To encourage diversity, simply reduce the number of dominant plants in order to restore the balance.

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