Free seeds, sowing for wildlife, and looking after birds in spring
Help pollinators with this colourful crop, says Ruth
WE often state the importance of leaving an area of your garden to go ‘feral’ and grow a bit wild to provide shelter, food and nectar for wildlife, birds and insects.
Not everyone is happy with this idea of course, as some gardeners like to keep things neat and tidy, so a happy medium is to grow a selection of wild flowers to attract pollinators.
If you have more insects in your garden they will be followed by birds, bats, amphibians and other members of our wildlife tribe, many of which are under serious threat from loss of habitat and food sources.
This week’s free seeds will do their bit to rebalance the books. They are a mix of wildlife-attracting varieties, which will brighten your garden and many of which also make attractive cut flowers.
Varieties may include aster, borage, zinnia, flax, cornflower, corn cockle, larkspur and field poppy.
The seeds are super-easy to sow, just rake and clear a sunny, free-draining patch of border, water it well and scatter the seeds on the soil. Then cover with a little soil and firm it lightly with the back of a rake and protect from hungry birds and incontinent cats with a few twigs or a scattering of animal deterrent granules.
You could also sow a succession of seeds every few weeks for a longer time of flowering. Some can be sown in late summer or early autumn for next year.
The seedlings should emerge in a few weeks and you can then thin them out once they are growing well. With any luck, they will self-seed around the garden for next year.