Oliver Bennett
Why our pollinators need a helping hand
Walk a country lane in high summer and you may notice something missing. Where there were once drifts of ox-eye daisy, knapweed and scabious, there is now often close-cropped ryegrass and little else. Since the 1930s we have lost the vast majority of our wildflower meadows, and with them a great deal of the food our bees, butterflies and moths depend on.
Britain is home to around 270 species of bee, plus hundreds of butterflies and moths and thousands of hoverflies. Most of them need a continuous supply of pollen and nectar from March through to October, and they need it in the sort of sunny, sheltered, undisturbed places that native wildflowers favour. A verge, a field margin or a strip at the bottom of the garden may look modest, but joined up with its neighbours, it becomes a corridor. That is the encouraging part: with a few packets of seed and a change in how we mow, we can put something back.
Three native wildflowers worth starting with
Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) is the classic hay meadow flower, flowering from May to August on stems that stand up well above the grass. Its shallow, open flowers are easy for short-tongued bees, hoverflies and beetles to feed from, and it makes an unmistakable marker of where a meadow strip begins. It spreads readily by rhizome, so it is ideal for filling a new patch, though you may want to thin it later if it begins to dominate.
Common knapweed (Centaurea nigra), known in some counties as hardheads, is arguably the single best plant for a summer meadow. It is a deep-rooted perennial that copes with heavy clay and thin chalk alike, and from June to September it produces those tight purple heads of tiny florets that butterflies find irresistible. Meadow browns, ringlets, gatekeepers and marbled whites all visit it, along with bumblebees and day-flying moths. Leave the seedheads standing over winter and the goldfinches will finish the job for you.
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) brings something different. It is a biennial, spending its first year as a rosette of leaves and flowering the next June to August, then seeding itself gently around hedge banks, orchard edges and light woodland. Its long, tubular flowers are built for long-tongued bumblebees, and they are worked by moths after dusk — the foxglove pug moth uses it as a foodplant. Sow it in a bare patch and let it find its own way over the years.
Planting for a season that doesn't fizzle out
Knapweed and ox-eye daisy give you the high summer peak, but pollinators need a longer table. Add species that open before and after:
- Spring: cowslip, primrose, red dead-nettle, dandelion left in the lawn.
- Early summer: foxglove, meadow cranesbill, common vetch, birds-foot trefoil.
- High summer: ox-eye daisy, common and greater knapweed, field scabious, selfheal, yarrow.
- Late summer and autumn: devil's-bit scabious, wild marjoram, red clover, knapweed's second flush, ivy in October.
Aim for at least four or five species in flower at any one time, and let a few go to seed so the patch renews itself.
Sowing a meadow strip: the practical bit
Native wildflowers almost all prefer poor soil, full sun and low competition. Do not dig in compost or manure; richness only feeds the grass, which then swamps everything else. Clear the ground of existing vegetation, rake it to a fine tilth, and sow a native meadow mix in autumn or early spring at a low rate — around 2–4 grams per square metre is plenty. Mixing seed with sharp sand makes it easier to spread evenly.
On ground that is already grassy, sow yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) in autumn. This semi-parasitic native weakens the grass roots and opens up the sward, and it needs a spell of cold to germinate, so autumn sowing suits it. First-year results can look thin; by year three the meadow often finds its own balance. Water in dry spells for the first season, then leave it be.
Verges, field margins and the smallholding
If you farm or keep a few acres, the margins are where the biggest gains are. Leave a two-metre strip uncultivated around field edges and gateways, and cut it just once a year in late July or August, removing the cuttings so fertility doesn't build up. On paddock edges, fence off a strip from livestock and let it grow. Parish verges can be transformed simply by delaying the first cut until late July and taking the arisings away — a conversation with the local council or parish meeting is often all it takes.
Around the smallholding, an orchard understorey is perfect for a wildflower mix: the trees give dappled shade for foxgloves and the open ground between them suits knapweed and ox-eye daisy. A hedge bank sown with foxglove and red campion adds a further layer, and the hedge itself provides nesting cover and autumn berries.
A few habits that help more than flowers alone
- Cut long grass in stages rather than all at once, leaving 20–30cm tussocks for overwintering insects.
- Rake off and compost or hay the cuttings; leaving them smothers next year's seedlings.
- Let a patch of nettles and a few thistles stand — they feed the caterpillars of peacocks, small tortoiseshells and painted ladies.
- Leave some bare, sunny ground and old fence posts; solitary bees nest in both.
- Avoid pesticides and weedkillers entirely, and be sparing with slug pellets.
- Keep a shallow dish of water with pebbles in it for drinking, especially in dry summers.
None of this requires a large holding. A border, a strip beside the shed or half a verge will do. Sow it, cut it late, and by the second summer you will hear the hum before you see the flowers.
