Are you overwhelmed choosing the right mix for your garden? I can completely relate to that feeling! To help you to decide, I've come up with some suggestions below.
I want Colour, Colour and more Colour!
If colour is your number one priority, then choose an annual mix. Annuals are flowers that complete their lifecycle within one year. They are quick to establish and pump out bloom after bloom until the first frosts. You can encourage self-seeding for next year by cutting all growth down to a couple of inches after all flowers have gone to seed, and stamping over the clippings. Leave the clippings for a maximum of two weeks before composting. How successful your flowers self-seed really depends on weed pressure in your garden.
At Bann Valley Wildflowers, we have four annual varieties to choose from.
I want native flowers
Native Cornfield Confetti contains Field Poppy, Blue Cornflower, Corn Marigold, Corn Chamomile and Corn Cockle. These are hardy annuals that can be sown directly in Autumn or in Spring after the last hard frost.
I want a colour palette that changes throughout the growing season
Vibrant Impact Annuals are absolutely gorgeous, this is my personal favourite mix. The first blooms are airy white and pink (Gypsophilia and pastel paper daisies), followed by blues (cornflower and morning glory), onto the punchy oranges and deep pinks (calendula and Clarkia). Vibrant Impact Annuals contains a variety of beautiful poppies. These are hardy annuals that can be sown directly in Autumn or in Spring after the last hard frost.
I can't obscure signage, I still want impact! / I want to grow in containers
Window Wildflowers are just as impactful as Vibrant Impact Annuals, with the advantage of being low growing dwarf varieties. This makes this mix a great choice for areas with signage, growing in containers or growing in slightly exposed areas where wind may be an issue. These are hardy annuals that can be sown directly in Autumn or in Spring after the last hard frost.
I want a colour story
Pink Petals is our newest addition and it is absolutely dreamy. This is a pollinator mix that contains quite a few tender annuals that are best sown after the last frosts, for most of Northern Ireland, this is around early - mid-May. The variety of shades and textures make this a really fun mix to grow.
I want flowers that return year after year
Perennial flowers are those that return year after year. In general, perennial flowers do not produce flowers in the first year. In the year after sowing, you can expect some blooms, getting more prolific as the years go on. We have two perennial mixes that contain 10% annuals for year one colour. They can be sown in Spring or Autumn. In Autumn all growth needs to be cut down to a couple of inches and lifted away.
I want ornamental perennials
Vibrant Impact Perennials are a great choice for pollinator gardens. When established, flowers bloom early in the season right up until the first hard frost. After a few years, flowers form clumps that you can lift and divide, to plant throughout your garden.
I want informal perennials for pollinators
Pure Buzzin' is a lovely choice for an informal pollinator area. Many of the perennials in Pure Buzzin' are native and can produce flowers in the first year. Expect lots of bees and butterflies!
I have a huge area / I have a small budget
Don't mow, let it grow - encourage wildflowers that are already in your garden! The priority is to reduce fertility from the ground to make grasses less competitive. The best way to do this is to let everything grow, mow once a year and lift away all the clippings. This is fantastic for improving biodiversity in your garden, having long grass is second only to having a pond for welcoming wildlife.
You can sow out Yellow Rattle, a native wildflower that has parasitic properties in that it takes nutrients away from grassroots creating natural gaps for wildflowers to establish. Yellow Rattle seed needs 3 months of cold temperatures to break dormancy, so it is best sown any time from August to mid-December.
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