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  • Amateur Gardening

    Ask John Negus

    Mar 02, 2021 8 minutes

    John has been answering reader queries for 50 years

    How can I create a wildlife-friendly area?

    Q I would like to create a wildlife-friendly patch in an area currently planted with daffodils. I am planning on sowing grass seeds in the area below the daffodil area and retaining the upper part as a bit of a wilder area. What could I sow or plant?

    Mildred Hughes (via email)

    A I am sure your daffodils will be looking an absolute picture. To extend the wildflowers into summer, I suggest that you plant:

    Dusky cranesbill (Geranium phaeum): Deep purple, almost black, flowers.

    Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium): White, daisy-like blooms.

    Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea): Mauve, lavender-like flowers.

    Hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica): Pale purple blooms.

    Honesty (Lunaria annua): Purple or white blossom and papery seedpods.

    Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium caeruleum): Cobalt-blue or white flowers all summer.

    Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis): Sprays of tiny yellowish or green blooms.

    Ramsons or wild garlic (Allium ursinum): Heads of tubular white blossom.

    Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata): Bold yellow flowers.

    Tellima grandiflora: Spikes of pinkfringed green bells.

    Shrubs to stabilise the bank include snowberry (symphoricarpos), Mahonia ‘Apollo’, Euonymus ‘Dart’s Blanket’, and Elaeagnus ‘Gilt

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