West Cheshire wildflowers

Wildflowers are valuable to your garden ecosystem as they provide food and shelter for a huge range of species, including important pollinators.

In the UK, we have lost 97 per cent of our meadows in the last 80 years, so planting garden meadows – a combination of wildflowers and wild grasses – can help to make up for these lost habitats.

Both our Land Action Plan and Wildflower and Grassland Strategy highlight the importance of wildflowers and wildlife friendly gardening practices. Together these actions can help both nature’s recovery and contribute to the borough’s carbon net zero ambitions, set out in our Climate Emergency Response Plan.

Cheshire Wildflower mix

We have consulted with the National Wildflower Centre at the Eden Project to identify the best mix to suit the Cheshire landscape. Boston Seeds has been chosen as the main supplier of seed due to its extensive variety of native pollinators and mixes. More details about the mix and how to order it directly can be found on the Council’s website.

Instructions for planting wildflowers

There are lots of ways you can sow your wildflower seeds. You can create a mini meadow in your lawn, sow wildflowers in gaps in your borders or even grow wildflowers in a pot.

Seeds can be sown any time from mid-March until late October. The ideal time is autumn, but avoid periods of extreme heat during the summer months.

• You need to create a fine top layer of soil to sow the seeds. So clear the ground of any existing vegetation you don’t want to keep, to create areas of bare soil where you can sow.
  
  
• 3g of seed is needed per square metre. Scatter the seeds as you walk across the ground, trying to get an even coverage. Then rake the soil and walk back over the area so that the seeds make contact with the soil.
  
  
• If planting over a large area it is advisable to mix the wildflower seed with a carrier such as dry sand or compost. This will help to distribute it more evenly.
  
  
• Keep the area well-watered until it is established.
  
  
• Beware the birds. Birds will love to eat the wildflower seeds, so some gardeners like to put up netting while the seeds are germinating.

WWF UK has a short video that shows you how to plant wildflowers in your garden.

Share your results

We’d love to see pictures of your wildflowers in bloom across the borough. Share your wildflower story on the ‘Your Stories’ section of the Climate Emergency Inspire Hub.