Cornwall Life: August 2019 35W
ildflowers are
fast becoming
the display de
jour – and thanks
to a growing awareness of the
importance of flora and fauna in
supporting our eco-system – and
this summer they seem to be
everywhere.
Among those to look out for are
the two-kilometre stretch of the
central reservation of the A390
from Threemilestone roundabout
to beyond the Treliske
roundabout which are blooming
with yarrow, poppy, bird’s-foot
trefoil, daisy and clover.
Around 7400m² of seeds
were cast using hydro-seeding,
where the seeds are mixed with
mulch into a solution that is
then sprayed over the area to
be planted. This improves the
chances of the seed germinating
successfully and provides a more
accurate spread rate. Embedding
seeds into the mulch also
substantially lowers the chance of
them blowing away in a breeze.
Not only are the flowers
improving the look of one of the
main routes into the city, they
are helping to support birds, bees
and other wildlife. Verges also
provide a potential habitat for
rare flowers.
“We’ve lost so many insects
and pollinators over the years
and we’ve got to do somethingto put habitats back,” explains
Sue James, Cornwall Council
cabinet portfolio holder for the
environment.
Not to be outdone, the
Eden Project has repeated the
success of last years flower
displays, with its grand display
of some of the UK’s best known
wildflowers including poppies,
cornflowers, daisies and corn
marigolds. Eden now owns the
National Wildflower Centre(NWC) and the centre has
relocated to Cornwall where new
programmes are being devised to
reverse the ecological decline and
bring wildflowers back into the
UK’s living culture.
Increasingly gardeners are
being encouraged to leave part
of the garden uncultivated to
encourage or plant wildflowers.
But being wild doesn’t mean they
are easy to grow. They have not
undergone the same intensive
cultivation of commercial plants
that have been bred to do well
pretty much anywhere. “You
can’t always simply plant themin the garden
GOING
WILD
Once considered weeds by many, wildflowers have made a
welcome return for gardeners keen to invite the insect world
into their environs – but it’s not as easy as you might think...and wait for them to thrive
as you can with plants grown
as cultivars and engineered
by us through generations of
clever horticulture,” explains
Nic Harrison-White, Wildlife
Information Manager at
Cornwall Wildlife Trust. “Native
plant species typically need to
be part of an ecosystem and
very much depending on your
garden’s soil structure, humidity,
soil ecology and many other
factors. Some would do well
in one garden and yet be
impossible to get established
in another garden, even in the
same neighbourhood.
“In this way our native Bluebell
might be almost rampant and
cover one person’s lawn to the
point they can’t easily mow,
whereas even next door, they
cannot get it to grow at all.
And, of course a weed by any
other name... “Never forget the
value of native ruderal or pioneer
species such as willowherbs,
dandelions, thistles and
buttercup in your garden,” adds
Nic. “Seeing a bare patch at the
edge of a flowery lawn with a
bright yellow Catchfly opening in
the sunshine to reveal a snoozing
bee is one of my most cherished
childhood moments – make
sure you make space to find that
yourself, and to share that with
generations to come.” ‘You can’t always simply
plant them and wait for
them to thrive as you
can with plants grown as
cultivars and engineered
by us through generations
of clever horticulture’GARDENS
Ewen MacDonald