Wild Flower mixed seeds

[Stinkhorn]

I have bought a couple of mild flower assortment seed packets, containg all sorts of flowers.

Will I regret sowing these, a friend tells me they take over and are very difficilut to get rid of if you don't like them and her didn't.

What do you think?
From the packet pictures there seems to be some daisys, poppies and filed scabious

[ron1863]

Why don't you sow a small patch and see what comes up. My friend sowed some a few years ago and got mainly wild grasses. Have you tried collecting your own in late summer and autumn

[Jez]

Hi stinkhorn any chance you could elaborate us more as to what the seed packets are & could you list all the flowers and where you hope to plant the flowers after sowing? Daisy's usually grow well in lawns and are beneficial bee plants, the same goes for the lovely field scabious for borders these are also beneficial for bees, hover flies and butterflies, yes they can happily free seed but not at an alarming rate like willow herbs for example which can go quite rampant and hard to manage. Some mixes you see for sale I find to be cobbled together giving no thought to the situ, also some of the mixes contain foreign seeds which hold no benefit our wildlife! Personally I stay clear of these seed packets and buy from wildflower specialists, who's seeds are of native stock and the mixes are put together with care for certain soil conditions and situ's i.e woodland, moist soil (field scabious), wetland, informal lawns (daisies) , cornfield ( poppy's), sandy soil etc! If you like I can always pm with a number of specialists who have been in the business for many a year, are very reliable and keen to answer any concerns.

Jez

[Meta menardi]

If you are trying to establish wilf flowers for the benefit of your local area, you should give serious thought to where the seed you use comes from. Many plants have local "races" and this can be destroyed or seriously diluted by planting seed that does not have a local provenance. Some mixtures have seed from other countries, and using this can cause the extinction of local characteristics in plants.

[Stinkhorn]

Given that wild flower seeds can cause damage to local populations and as I understand it is illegal to collect seeds form the wild. Is it most enviromentally sound to plant non native plants in out gardens?

[Susie]

I can't see any problem with planting native seeds in your garden.

It becomes a problem when people think they are doing good by sowing seeds elsewhere (grassy verges, woodland, etc) and it can actually have a detrimental effect if the seed isn't properly sourced and keyed in to the local environment.

[Paul mabbott]

If it's a garden - plant what you like from any British sources. Only beware of planting foreign seeds that are new to the country: they might spread in a harmful way.

If it's a semi-natural area - don't sow any seeds other than as part of a scientifically planned programme.