Garden Gorilla and wild flowers

[jerryyoung]

Hello,
New to this forum so Hello,
I have had a hobby in which I have taken upon myself to plant various wild Flowers in various locations to boost numbers.
I have put in Cornflower, wild Chicory, Black Bitter Vetch, Pulsitilla Vulgaris, Linium Perenne and the French form of the Cheddar Pink in to chalk downland and other areas.
Is this a good thing to do as,especially with the Cheddar pink, as they are slightly genetically different. Same plant but not the precise uk brand. A bit like introducing Beavers in to the UK with them being predominantly foreign in origin.
Is this a good plan or something to leave alone.

-Jerry

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by jerryyoung

Hello,
New to this forum so Hello,
I have had a hobby in which I have taken upon myself to plant various wild Flowers in various locations to boost numbers.
I have put in Cornflower, wild Chicory, Black Bitter Vetch, Pulsitilla Vulgaris, Linium Perenne and the French form of the Cheddar Pink in to chalk downland and other areas.
Is this a good thing to do as,especially with the Cheddar pink, as they are slightly genetically different. Same plant but not the precise uk brand. A bit like introducing Beavers in to the UK with them being predominantly foreign in origin.
Is this a good plan or something to leave alone.

-Jerry

Hi Jerry, welcome to WAB.
While I have varying views on introducing 'alien' stock to our national flora, some purists will frown on such practises.
I, and many others are quite happy that Chedder Pink is confined to just that area. It would not have the same appeal if it were to be encountered around every corner, and then found to be French!.
I have learned to accept our flora as it is, and do not wish to change it.

Those of us who make the recording of our national flora our lifetime persuit, do so in the knowledge that some plants are hard to find and may always be national rarities. And as much as I would like to see, for example, Summer Ladies Tresses make a re-appearence in the New Forest, I would not, if it were to happen, wish to discover that they had been brought over from France.

New species will continue to be accidentally introduced, but deliberate introductions need carefull and expert consideration, it would be quite easy to go around sowing seeds 'willy-nilly' ony to find later that those plants have been very detrimental to more delicate species.

So I think you should give it some thought before you go any further, as honourable as your intentions may be.

I'm sure many others will have views on this subject.
Dorts.

[stevecurtis]

I think something to leave alone,balance in nature is very complex,things introduced without much thought usually end in disaster.

all the best steve

[King Edward]

I agree with Dorts. It's not a good idea to start sowing/planting 'wild' flowers around the countryside especially if they're of foreign origin.

The situation with Beavers is different since they were extinct here and are being reintroduced (hopefully, so long as the trial is successful). In that case, animals were chosen from I think Norway as being the most similar to the extinct UK animals. It would be quite inappropriate, though, to introduce American Beavers, for instance, since these are a completely difference species never native to the UK.

In the case of Cornflowers, these are probably unlikely to persist in the wild anyway since they have vanished from the countryside due to the change in farming practices.

[jerryyoung]

Yep, a tricky one. The Cheddar Pink was said to have been common and across the UK at some point in history so has been reduced by various methods across the years.
I can appreciate the comments above and the answers are not unexpected. I also think of the other insects and creatures which benefit from the presence of a greater range of plant life even though thier purity may be miminally compromised. We are coming from a point where farming has wiped out many of the exisiting stock and the insect population is crashing.
Thanks for the comments and I'll be thinking a little more about these things.

-Jerry

[jerryyoung]

Just done a little more digging. The seeds aren't from France by the looks of things-
Article found below-

The Firewitch comes from the family Caryophyllaceae, which means “the pink family” in Latin. Dianthus means “divine flower,” indicative of its historical importance, and its middle name, gratianopolitanus, means “of or from Grenoble, France.” The Firewitch is also associated with the name “cheddar pink,” which probably comes from the Dutch Pinkster or the German Pfingsten for “Pentecost” (the time during spring when these plants often bloom) and from the Cheddar Gorge, a place in southwestern England where the plant grows wild.

[UB4 gardener]

I know you mean well but personally i would say leave well alone. plant them in your garden by all means but outside of that leave any planting to mother nature (or conservation bodies or the land owner). is planting wildflowers on someone elses land even legal?

Chris.

[Susie]

Chalk downland is very precious and sticking random wild flower seeds in there is a plain stupid idea, probably illegal if it doesn't belong to you and amount to vandalism.

Stick to spreading your wildflowers on waste ground or brown field sites. Thanks.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Susie

Chalk downland is very precious and sticking random wild flower seeds in there is a plain stupid idea, probably illegal if it doesn't belong to you and amount to vandalism.

Stick to spreading your wildflowers on waste ground or brown field sites. Thanks.

Well said..
I dont agree with putting anything in the wild that does not belong there naturally and not on purpose.

[Hedera]

I agree with the above. Some councils have mistakenly planted "wild flowers". the seeds of which have been obtained from abroad and contain non-British varieties. These can be invasive if not controlled. Do be careful! Remember Himalayan balsam for instance. Guerilla warfare is insidious.