Butterfly and Moth Wildflower Seed Mix
Butterflies and moths need native plants not only as sources of nectar, but also as food plants for their caterpillars. Many have a single species of food plant. That relationship means butterflies and moths are particularly vulnerable to the disappearance of plant species from our countryside - some particularly so. You can see this in recent data; "generalist" butterflies are doing relatively better than specialists. Many of their food plants are trees, shrubs and grasses, but some are also the wildflowers that butterflies and moths nectar from too. This seed mix will bring them into your garden. It includes some of the wildflowers most useful for them and attractive for you.
About this Seed for Butterflies and Moths
The seed mix comprises 100% native British wildflowers, sustainably harvested in the UK. We have designed it to benefit not just a variety of moths and butterflies, but other pollinators like bees too. The wildflowers here are all recommended by Butterfly Conservation. There are a lot of different types of flowers here, partly to make sure the mix will work in a wide range of conditions and partly to ensure a long flowering sequence. You'll see a few flowers in year one but it will really get going from year two.
You can generally expect to receive your seed within five working days of placing an order.
Seeding
As it has no grasses, our butterfly and moth seed mix only needs sowing up to 2g / square metre.
There are instructions on the back of the packet, but the seeds are pretty simple to sow. Clear the weeds and grasses from the area you want to seed and rake to what gardening books describe as a "fine tilth". Then sow the seeds - best done in spring and late summer/autumn. You'll be surprise how low the seeding rate is - seeding a lawn, for example, needs up to 50 times more seed per square metre. A helpful tip; mix the seed in with sand to bulk it out and make sure you don't overseed the first bit of your site then run out! Don't add topsoil or compost and just tread in or roll lightly once sown - don't cover the seeds with soil. Water as necessary and while they get established make sure the seedlings don't dry out.
If you're going to sow onto existing grass, please read this blog first! You will only need up to 1g / square metre.
You can generally expect to receive your seed within five working days of placing an order.
Wildflower Species:
Anthyllis vulneraria Kidney vetch
Centaurea cyanus Cornflower
Lotus corniculatus Bird's-foot trefoil (main photo)
Echium vulgare Viper's Bugloss
Cardamine pratensis Cuckooflower
Centaurea nigra Common Knapweed
Knautia arvensis Field Scabious
Origanum vulgare Wild Marjoram
Primula veris Cowslip
Silene dioica Red Campion
Trifolium pratense Wild Red Clover
Vicia cracca Tufted Vetch
Vicia sepium Bush Vetch
Supplier: All Things Rural