Wild flower Specification Manual By Grahame Dixie and Matthew Swift

Role: The cowslip is a must for almost all non-acidic open grassland sites. The plant forms a key component of spring flowering grasslands. It can be used to create cowslip meadows in ordinary turf grass. The cowslips are allowed to flower and cutting can start either at the end of flowering in May or after seed set in June. Thereafter the lawn can be kept short. Cowslips can be planted at the front of herbaceous borders. Planting should be carried out in the Autumn.. Cowslips are increasingly common on roadside verges and wastelands where they provide a valuable food source for bees and are the larval host plant for the Duke of Burgundy butterfly as well as an important nectar source.

Role: Cross-leaved heather is an evergreen that can provide both a carpet of colour in bogs and moors and an effective plant for the border with its close knit stems. Like all heather’s its flowers are attractive to honey bees and butterflies and the flower is the preferred nectar source for the Large Heath butterfly.

Role: In moist or wet habitats the cuckoo flower will quickly establish itself and can quickly spread by means of stolons. In garden situations the plant can play a role in spring flowering lawns on heavy soils, when a regular cutting programme is carried out after flowering. The Cuckoo flower can be established in a range of wet grass lands, including sites waterlogged in the winter. The maintenance regime can comprise a cut in June or July with a second cut in the autumn. The key issue is not to let the sward grow so tall as to swamp the Cuckoo flower. The flower is an important larval host plant and nectar source for the Orange-Tip and Green Veined White butterfly.

Role : The Devils Bit Scabious plays an important part in wet meadows, fens and grasslands and will survive in nearly all environments except where the soil is very dry. The plant has a poor ability to persist in unmanaged grassland but is very tolerant of cutting and can be cut back in the spring and, if necessary, again in the Autumn. In the designed landscape the Devils Bit Scabious is valuable for its late flowering season, attractive flowers and long life. Out of all our native wildflowers very few attract more butterflies than the Devils Bit Scabious, which is favoured by the Tortoiseshells, Admirals, Marsh Fritillary (as the larval host plant) and nearly all types of bees.

Role: The Early Purple Orchid is an excellent companion for Cowslips in short grass and Bluebells in woodland habitats. The plant is ideal for banks and on roadsides. In the absence of winter grazing the grass should be cut in late July and the aftermath cut in the autumn. Under woodland coppicing is important to allow sufficient light to the field layer. The Early Purple Orchid is an important nectar source for butterflies.

Role: The Field Scabious has a valuable role as a tall, attractive summer flower of banks, roadside verges and meadows. Its size enables Field Scabious to sustain itself in tall quite fertile grasslands. It can persist in unmanaged grasslands but more usually requires an autumn and possibly an additional spring cut. Field Scabious can play a structurally towards the back of the herbaceous border, in summer flowering meadows and alongside drives. The flowers are an extremely important nectar source for both butterflies and bees. It is the preferred nectar source for Small Skipper, Essex Skipper and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.

Role: Germander Speedwell can be introduced into short open grasslands, either in full sun or under dappled shade. The stolons are used to rapidly invade gaps in the sward. The grass will need to be lightly grazed or regularly cut. The plants is resistant to trampling and a useful food source for butterflies. Suitable sites include mown hedgebanks, flowering lawns and roadsides. The plant does best in quite shaded areas of a garden such as under tall trees or in hedges.