What this website provides...

When confronted with the enormity of the ecological problems confronting the planet it seems that We each must find our own ways of minimizing our ....plantman's and ecologist's view  

 Go Native.. In your Flower Garden!

Many of our native flowering plants and small flowering trees make charming and naturalistic garden specimens. Unlike exotic introductions (which only provide nectar and pollen), they also play a key role in the support of the complex ecological web, which is the foundation for  our native biodiversity.  Many native plants are specific hosts for invertabrate species (for example the Common Blue Butterfly depends on Birdsfoot Trefoil for its existance). Remove that plant species and the dependant animal species also disappears.

Modern farming practices result in the deliberate removal of native plants from both pasture and arable farmland.  If you perfom a Google search on the latin name of a native plant you will more often than not come up with agricultural advice on how to exterminate it.  The result is that most farmland has been denuded of its native flora, which now only exists in roadside verges, woodland, wasteland and nature reserves.  As a consequence Britain's biodiversity is greatly impoverished and more and more native wildlife species are threatened with extinction.  Our national biodiversity is every bit a part of our heritage as are our national works of art and architecture and as interest and participation in wildlife-related activites increases, wildlife is also becoming an important leisure activity.

 You can however play a part in helping sustain our natural wildlife heritage by introducing native wildflower plants into your garden plantings. Collectively, our gardens represent a larger area than all the nature reserves in Britian put together.  More importantly, gardens tend to form contiguous blocks and provide the corridors which prevent species being isolated in habitat islands.  Introducing native flowering plants into your garden will bring other delights, such as:

• A naturalistic, charming and low-maintenance style of gardening;
• Plants in balance with our climate, needing no fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides;
• More butterflies, bees, moths, beneficial insects and other wildlife to enjoy;
• Maintaining the native plant links with our past, which have been woven into the fabric of the Nation's folklore, poetry, herbal medicine, cottage gardens and legends.

Learn... About Wildflower Gardening

As native plant enthusiasts and previous owners of a wildflower nursery, we have designed this website to provide all the information you may need to sucessfully grow native flowering plants in your garden.  Firstly, we have made available a wealth of downloadable free information in the form of PDF booklets & information sheets.  These cover;

• Wildflower meadow and mini garden meadow creation & maintenance;
• Cornfield annual mini-meadow and border creation & maintenance;
• Native flowering plants in herbaceaous borders;
• Woodland & shade gardens;
• Creating drift beds with wildflowers & native ornamental grasses;
• Pond margin and bog-garden plantings with wildflowers;
• Wildflower rock gardens;
• Wildflower seed propagation guide.

To acess this downloadable information click the information icon icon on the right, alternatively, click the "learn" button on the top-bar.

The EcoGardening Range of Products

To complement this comprehensive wildflower gardening information we also make available a range of products to help you use the information provided to establish a range of wildflower gardening styles in your garden. Our products are mainly based on native seeds, as growing from seed is generaly straightforward, is much more economical than buying plants and avoids the carbon footprint & costs associated with the delivery of heavy plants. Our range of products includes:

• Indvidual species seed packets;
•  Collections seed packets;
• Seed mixes;
• Wildflower meadow kits;
• Cornfield annual border kits;
•  Propagating & growing aids;
• Wildflower-themed note cards;
• Wildflower meadow turf-growing kits;
• Native flowering bulbs;
• Native flowering trees & shrubs, suitable for gardens and sundries;
• Seed saving and storing aids.

For more details and to access our range of products, click the "Products" image on the right.