Growing native
wildflowers in our gardens continues to gain in popularity.
Whether we are interested in the wildlife they attract or we
grow them because we love their charm and simplicity, there is
a good chance that the daisy family, or Compositae are
represented, intentionally or not, somewhere in your garden or
allotment. Many familiar ‘weeds’ belong to this group,
including the ubiquitous dandelion, so love them or hate them
they are likely to be around your garden somewhere. This
enormous family of plants is represented in the Britain and
Northern Europe by well over 100 species and some of the composites – the knapweeds and
cornflowers for example are incredibly valuable when it comes
to providing
nectar and pollen for our native insects. There are several that make excellent garden
border plants and others that are very suitable for growing in
grass alongside a sunny hedge, or in a traditional wildflower
meadow.
The humble daisy (Bellis
perennis) immediately comes to mind. This is a little plant
that has been seriously persecuted in the past by the ‘green
lawn’ brigade! Few things to my mind are more boring in a
garden than an expanse of grass with no small flowers here and
there. A sprinkle of daisies adds charm and interest as well
as attracting the odd butterfly in late spring. The easiest
way to add this sweet and often overlooked little wildflower
to your garden is to beg a plant from a friend and split it up
before planting. It will require very little attention
besides a little water while it establishes, will grow in any
type of soil and will soon spread of its own accord. Adapted
to be grazed by animals in the wild, it is perfectly happy to
be mown on a weekly basis and will brighten your lawns and
grassy paths for several months.
The ox-eye daisy or moon daisy (Leucanthemum
vulgare) is the lawn daisy’s much larger cousin and is also
capable of surviving some pretty harsh treatment. This
wildflower can remain undetected in short grass for several
years but will blossom when cutting stops, producing many
characteristic daisy flowers - white petalled with yellow
centres - from a single plant. It reaches a height of 60 cms
or thereabouts but in a good soil in a border can rival the
shasta daisy, a close relative from the Pyrenees. The moon
daisy is one of my favourite wildflowers, a herald of summer
and a good butterfly plant, but many gardeners find it
problematic. If left to its own devises it will seed
prolifically, especially where bare soil is available, so this
is one wildflower to grow in the confines of a meadow if you
wish to keep its exuberance in check.
In amongst grass it will settle comfortably, only seeding
gently where the soil is exposed after an annual cut and
rake. It provides nectar for many species of butterfly and
pollen for hoverflies and bees. Some people dislike its
rather unpleasant smell, reminiscent of ‘wet dog’, but its
other common name of dog daisy does not actually allude to this
characteristic. Many wild plants acquired the prefix ‘dog’
which referred to their inferior nature! Moon daisy is easy
to grow from seed, needing no special treatment. Sown in
spring or autumn, it will germinate quickly and soon attain a
size where it can be planted out in a border, or into an area
of grass.
The last of the white
flowered daisies I would recommend is the annual corn
chamomile (Anthemis arvensis). Usually confined to a mix of
cornfield species, this small arable ‘weed’ is a bright,
cheerful annual that always performs well. In a mix of other
annuals such as cornflower and poppy, it provides the white
backdrop to the other flowers’ bright hues. The leaves are
fern-like, feathery and scented and the flowers are attractive
to hoverflies, making this a good species to grow close to
flowers that are prone to aphids. Hoverflies, attracted to
the pollen of the chamomile, will soon detect any aphid
activity and lay eggs nearby. The larvae soon deal with the
problem, feasting on the greenfly or blackfly. True
chamomile, a similar plant to the corn chamomile, is also a
native wildflower, but now rarely encountered in the
countryside.
Common fleabane (Pulicaria
dysenterica) is another of the daisy flowers we see in the
countryside, often in damper places besides streams or ponds
or in wet soil. This is an excellent butterfly attractant, so
well worth a place on the edge of your garden pond, or in clay
soil that holds water in the winter months. Unlike the
previous species this one has yellow flowers, and pale green,
soft, downy leaves. It spreads via underground runners, but
is never a problem. A late summer flowerer, it looks
especially attractive with spikes of purple loosestrife on a
pond edge and can be easily germinated in spring from its
fluffy seeds. Like the majority of our native plants this
wildflower has a use and fleabane, as the name suggests, has
been used in the past to deter fleas. The leaves are strongly
scented, with a rather medicinal odour which is not exactly
pleasant, so it is easy to imagine that some insects might be
repelled by it. The plant was dried and hung inside, or
leaves were burned to expel the offending creatures.
The annual corn
marigold (Chrysanthemum segetum) is a plant that can’t be too
highly recommended for garden cultivation. Its bright, almost
orange-yellow flowers shine like the sun for many months,
bringing colour into borders until October. Like the corn
chamomile it often appears in mixes of cornfield annuals, but
can be grown very effectively on its own, perhaps where bare
soil needs to be covered for a season. Seed can be scattered
on the soil surface and gently trodden in. Germination is
quick and reliable and nothing more needs to be done to create
a bed of golden blooms, good for cutting and attractive to
many types of insect, especially pollen beetles and
hoverflies. With so much pollen on display it is not
surprising that these insects search out the corn marigold.
Self-seeding is inevitable so once you have established this
delightful annual it is likely to be around for some time.
All these simple
flowers, with their excellent insect attracting qualities, are
anything but simple in design. They all have the typical
composite structure where each ‘flower’ is in fact a dense
cluster of tiny florets, each one brimming with nectar. It is
no wonder that our native insects find them so irresistible.
And there are plenty more in this group – a whole range of
plants that we rarely think of including in our gardens.
Some, such as the more familiar elecampane, have been
introduced to our countryside as garden escapes, but the list
of true natives is endless and their names are satisfyingly
intriguing. We have cudweed, aster, cat’s-foot, ploughman’s
spikenard, hemp acrimony, sneezewort, yarrow, tansy and
mugwort to name a few. There are yet more to explore,
including of course the thistles, dandelions and hawkweeds,
but the summer daisies described here have a great deal to
offer the wildlife gardener. |
