Wildflowers
Posted on 17th August 2020 at 11:37
Wildflowers
History
Here at Mires Beck Nursery, wildflowers is the oldest part of our horticultural charity. It was created because the founders of the organisation Richard and Irene Tinkler, both keen conservationists, realised there was no where they could buy wildflowers of Yorkshire provenance. So,they bought the site and started growing wildflowers from locally gathered seed. Thirty years later we now grow around 100 species of wildflower and sell an average of 20,000 plants a year.
What do we do with our Wildflowers?
We sell to major companies like the Wildlife Trusts, Natural England, Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust, National Parks and the National Trust to name but a few. We grow our wildflowers mainly in root trainers which produce a very strong root ball and are simple to transport and plant while still being cheap. In addition, we also grow them in 9cm pots if species need more growing room for their roots. We also specialise in growing Phragmites australis (Common reed) for wetland habitat restoration projects and produce around 20,000 a year. The staff and the service users gather most of our seed from purpose built beds on site or from the Mires Beck estate. Some is gathered with permission from local nature sites but still within the bounds of Yorkshire.
Why are they important?
Wildflowers are important as they provide critical habitat for pollinators (bees and other insects that pollinate plants), beneficial insects and wildlife, which is important for ecosystem function and pollination. Wildflowers provide lots of things that insects need: food in the form of leaves, nectar and pollen, also shelter and places to breed. In return, insects pollinate the wildflowers, enabling them to develop seeds and spread to grow in other places. As well as this, wildflowers can improve soil health-when wildflowers become established and spread their roots, they stabilise the surrounding soil., prevent erosion, improve water quality, increase yields and enhance forage conditions for livestock. Each Wildflower will have a different purpose and they will grow best if they are given the treatment that they need.
PlantLife
PlantLife and the RHS have joined together to produce a guide on how to keep ponds and aquaria without harmful invasive plants. They talk about the many different Wildflower plants that can help your pond, which if you have a pond, you can purchase from us.
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