What is the difference between a weed with flowers and a wildflower? Well, not very much really, the RHS says “Weeds are wild plants in the wrong place.” So if you like the look of it and it’s not a problem in your garden, you can call it a wildflower!
Scarlet Tiger Moth on Green Alkanet: Richard Revels (rspb-images.com)
Garden flowers have been deliberately bred and cultivated over time for gardeners, maximising size and colour, hardiness, fragrance and duration of flowering. Through this process, we have also occasionally lost some of the beneficial aspects of the original flower for wildlife such as creating double and multi-layered petals making the nectar more difficult for pollinators to access. Having said that, there are of course many cultivated plants for the garden that benefit wildlife and pollinators.
Some of our prettiest wildflower "weeds" include pink Knapweed and Geranium Herb-Robert, white Stitchwort, Red Valerian, White or Red Campions (which are pink!), Green Alkanet (with a deep blue flower; it can spread so keep an eye on controlling it if necessary) and Forget-me-nots.
Many of these are welcomed by the gardener for adding beauty and wildlife benefit to the garden but there are also plants, some that flower, causing a real problem due to them being poisonous, a physical irritant or highly invasive such as Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed and Deadly Nightshade. Kleerkut highlight their top 10 most dangerous UK weeds which are good to be aware of.
Plants may also be viewed as unwanted weeds because they inhibit the growth of other plants you are trying to grow or spoil the look of your visual scheme!
Hedge Bindweed is one of those wildflowers that is attractive with delicate, papery white trumpet flowers but more often than not, a real problem in the garden as it rampantly sprawls, strangles and smothers other plants in it’s vicinity. To deal with it, digging it out at the root is the most wildlife friendly and effective method. The RHS offer some useful non chemical advice on controlling weeds and a list of common weeds that you may identify as problem plants in your own garden.
So what about some naturally occurring wild plants that we can actively embrace? Here are some beautiful woodland wildflowers highlighted by the Woodland Trust and the beginners guide to native British wildflowers from Countryfile.
Rather than removing them, it can often be really worth-while simply moving wild flowering plants into another part of the garden where they look great together or in a particular area. More and more garden centres now have a wildflower section where you can buy some of the most attractive and popular native wildflowers for the garden.
Is it just a weed or just wild? It could be up to you to decide!
See more wildflowers for yourself and find out more from the volunteers at The Flatford Wildlife Garden, open every day until October from 10.30am – 4.30pm. Entrance to the garden is free and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome. Car parking is £5 at the Flatford National Trust car park and this gives you access to the stunning countryside walks around Dedham Vale in Constable Country.