Wild flower Specification Manual By Grahame Dixie and Matthew Swift

Bell heather is not tolerant of shade or damp areas and will not grow soils with any lime .

Role: This is an evergreen sub-shrub that provides very attractive flowers in the summer. On low fertility, acid soils it is possible to create a pure heather lawn which is mown in autumn after the majority of plants have flowered. Bell Heather’s are frequently visited by bees and butterflies which are drawn by its nectar. The area of lowland Bell Heather’s has been drastically reduced and are now mainly found on roadsides, railway banks and golf courses.

Role: A slow growing, long-lived plant that is very attractive to bees and butterflies as a nectar source. Betony can be used in shortish grass, in hedgerows and at the edge of woodlands. The plant is highly tolerant of cutting and can thrive in spring/autumn and autumn cutting regimes. Betony can also persist in unmanaged grasslands.

Role: Birds Foot Trefoil is widely introduced in a range of open habitats and is particularly valuable in reclamation of derelict land. The plant can persist in un-managed grasslands, provided that the growth is not too rank, but performs best with either an autumn cut or both a spring and autumn cut. In the garden it can be used both in a frequently cut flowering lawn and as an easily maintained herbaceous border plant which is cut back once a year. The plant is an exceptionally important nectar source for butterflies and is a food plant for the Common Blue, other Blues and the Burnet Moth. To function as a food source for Common Blue larva , and possible the Dingy Blue butterfly, the turf should be kept short, at under 2.5 centimetres. Birds Foot Trefoil is an extremely important nectar source for butterflies and is amongst the preferred nectar sources for the Dingy Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Chalkhill Blue, Small Pearl Fritillary and the Pearl Bordered Fritillary.

Description and Habitat: Black Knapweed is a tall (40-80cm), tough perennial flower that produces large purple thistle like flowers, often two or three to a stem, from June to September. Black Knapweed is very common and is found throughout the British Isles except the northern most tip of Scotland, and is commonest in ungrazed neutral and calcareous grasslands and mires. ( W24, MG 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9, CG 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,13, M 13,22,24,25,26,27). It prefers soils of low to moderate fertility and is found in soils of pH 4 to 8 but particularly in pH 5 to 6 and 7.5 to 8. Black Knapweed is found in pasture, meadows, rock outcrops, waste land, river banks, road verges, beside paths and particularly in ungrazed limestone grassland. It does not do well in dense woodlands and in wetland conditions.

Role: Black Knapweed is a very widely used and successful species, suitable for almost all open sites and once established can persist in unmanaged grasslands to provide colour over an extended period. It is ideal for grassland sites with very little management. The management can comprise a single cut in the autumn or even no cutting. When planted in a herbaceous border it quickly establishes itself and should be either be cut down in the autumn after flowering, or left through the winter so that its seed provide a food source for birds. The plant is an attractive nectar source for many butterflies e.g. Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Silver Spotted Skipper, Brimstone, Chalkhill Blue, Adonis Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Silver-washed Fritillary, Marbled White and Meadow Brown..

Role: Bladder Campion has a role as an early introduction on disturbed sites and alongside paths and streams. Bladder Campion can persists in unmanaged grassland but performs best with an autumn, or a spring and autumn cut. As a tall plant it can have a role at the backs of summer flowering banks. The Bladder Campion is an important nectar source for butterflies and a favourite food plant for frog hoppers, the insects which create cuckoo spittle.

Role : Bluebells are a ubiquitous feature of most woodlands and especially deciduous woodlands. The species has poor dispersal mechanisms and even from established plants the rate of movement into new sites is only 6 to 15 m per 100 years. Bluebells need to be introduced under new plantations, and particularly once sufficient shade has been created under the canopy. Introductions can be made as bulbs, which are planted at a depth of 12.5 cm in the late summer and early autumn at approximately 9/m2, or sown as seed at 200 seeds/m2 in the winter. From seed it takes 4 - 5 years to produce a flowering plant. Bluebells are extremely easy to maintain and extremely long lived. Bluebells are preferred nectar sources for the Brimestone butterfly and the Pearl Bordered Fritillary. The plants never look untidy and can be just as at home under trees and shrubs in a garden as in a woodland.

Role: In the garden Bugle is ideal for damp partially shaded situations but can also feature in damp meadows. The flower is an important source of early source of nectar for butterflies, especially for the Duke of Burgundy, Marsh Fritillary and the Pearl-Bordered Fritillary. In the wild because of its liking for moist conditions it also does well near ponds, lakes or streams but is particularly suitable for in damp woodlands. The plant spreads vegetatively.