Wildflowers, like all
other types of flowering plant, come in many shapes and
sizes. Some of the most useful plants for providing height
and structure in a garden are those that are tall and stately
with long spikes of colourful flowers. In my garden plants
such as lupins and foxgloves perform this function admirably,
but as I prefer to include a few native plants wherever I can,
even in the more formal borders, I always try to find space
for wildflowers or their close relatives and varieties. We
are looking at two groups of wild plants that also have
varieties or ‘cousins’ which are very suitable for garden
cultivation, providing colour over a long period into the
autumn, and they have
great wildlife value too.
Mention willowherbs to most gardeners and there
is a chance that they will throw up their hands in horror -
weedy plants that are invasively spreading, inclined to take
over and with no garden merit! But the willowherb family, the
Onagraceae, actually contains a large number of very
garden-worthy plants including fuchsia and evening primrose.
Neither of these is truly native, but can still be included in
informal or wild borders. However the best of the native
willowherbs is a truly beautiful plant but possibly one of the
most invasive. Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium)
is a familiar plant of roadsides and waste ground where it may
create large areas of stunning spikes of bright pink flowers
which are quite capable of reaching a height of two and a half
meters. It also is an important larval food plant of the
elephant hawk moth and some species of leaf-cutter bees find
the leaves are just right for sealing their nest holes. All
in all then, a wonderful wildflower with good wildlife
attracting potential, but of course there is a catch. This
beautiful plant can take over your whole garden. It can be
grown in a container, but the pretty fluffy seeds will still
find their way into your borders. This doesn’t stop me
growing this wayward plant, and I accept the work involved in
keeping it under control, but for the more sensible gardener I
would recommend the white flowered version, (sometimes still
found under the name of Epilobium) which is equally gorgeous
and easier to confine. If willowherbs do take your fancy, the
greater willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) also has lovely spikes
of large pink flowers and softly hairy leaves, but sadly it is
also a very invasive plant. Most of the other native
willowherbs are rather weedy with quite insignificant flowers,
but even these species have long attractive seedpods which
split lengthways to release the rather lovely fluffy seeds.
Another member of this family, the yellow
flowered evening primrose, is a very familiar plant both in
gardens and in the wild and we tend to assume that it is
native to these shores. In fact these are introduced and
naturalised plants, but none the less valuable to the wildlife
gardener for that. They are North American plants, the most
frequently encountered being the common evening primrose,
Oenothera biennis. As the name suggests this is a biennial
and very easy to grow. Once it is established in your garden
it will self seed quite freely but it is easy to remove the
seedlings if they become too troublesome. All the evening
primroses are gently scented at night – this is to attract the
moths that pollinate them – so they are particularly lovely to
position close to a door that can be left open in the evening,
or beneath a open window. They have the added advantage of
nutritious seeds that some birds will seek out, so all in all
are excellent for a wildlife garden. Other species that
sometimes crop up in our countryside are the large flowered
evening primrose (Oenothera glazoviana) and the fragrant
evening primrose (Oenothera stricta) which all make pretty
border plants and flower throughout the summer months until
September.
Other plants in this vigorous group are rather
more gentle in their habits and appearance than the rampaging
willowherbs or the dazzling yellow evening primroses. One
such is the sweetly named enchanters nightshade (Circaea
lutetiana) which grows sedately in shady woodland. It
produces spikes of tiny white flowers and makes good ground
cover under trees or hedges where light levels are low. It
spreads gently so there is no danger of it taking over as some
ground cover plants are inclined to do.
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a
well-known wildflower that many people enjoy growing in the
garden. Free flowering, stately and colourful, it is the
perfect wildflower for the back of a border in clay soil or
beside a garden pond where the soil doesn’t dry out too much.
In the wild we expect to see it on riverbanks and other wet
spots, but sadly it is much less common than it was in years
gone by. In a wildlife garden it will attract bees, some
moths including the day-flying silver Y and
hoverflies, as it produces both nectar and pollen, and if the
weather conditions are still, butterflies especially the white
and brimstone will also take the
nectar. Its pinky purple flowers appear between June and
August and continue well into September so it is well worth growing if you have the right
conditions. There are excellent cultivated varieties of the
purple loosestrife with denser, brighter flower spikes. Lythrum Rosy Gem and Firecandle are both worth growing and
cope well with drier soils than our wild plant is inclined to
do.
Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) is
also known to many gardeners, as it is frequently grown as a
cottage garden plant. To confuse us though, this familiar
waterside plant is not related to purple loosestrife, but is
actually a member of the primrose family! This is a true
native and whatever its family connections, it is easy to grow
and a good bee attractant. Unlike the purple loosestrife,
which tends to spread by shedding its minute seeds around,
yellow loosestrife creeps and spreads underground so expect it
to expand into any available space where the conditions are
right. It prefers a damp soil but will grow pretty much
anywhere. Closely related to this plant is the dotted
loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata) a well-known cottage garden
plant, attracting bees to its pretty bright yellow flowers.
It is not native and where seen in the wild is a garden
escape. In the garden it will grow in almost any conditions,
even where the soil is dry and impoverished, so it is a useful
plant for awkward spots on the sunny side of walls or hedges.
Our native flora is extremely rich and
sometimes it is worth looking in a little more detail at some
of our less showy wildflowers in order to appreciate their
beauty. The loosestrifes and willowherbs species are both
showy and delicate, rampant and sedate, but all are worth a
closer look and maybe even a place in your garden. |
