Bee Friendly Wildflowers

Bee Friendly Wildflowers Growers of native wildflowers from local seeds; aiming to provide a colourful environment that benefits both humans and feeding insects.

We give over 80% of our plants to charities but also have some plug plants of various species for sale. We are a small business growing native wildflowers from seeds sourced locally and using sustainable and ecologically friendly methods; aiming to provide a colourful environment that benefits both humans and insects. We give 1000's of our plants to charities but, as a not for profit agency, also

have some plug plants for sale (£2-£3 each) to brighten gardens, meadows or even garden pots. Drop us a line if you would like to order any that you see pictured on this site. We do also have other species but of limited stock, so just ask.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum); a plant for mice to elephants.Honeysuckles are fairly common native climbing shrubs...
02/09/2026

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum); a plant for mice to elephants.
Honeysuckles are fairly common native climbing shrubs that grow vigorously along hedgerows. They produce sweet-scented creamy trumpet-like flowers from June to September resulting in clusters of red berries in the autumn. They will tolerate limestone, clay and sandy soil, preferring semi-shady conditions to get started.
Honeysuckles are hugely valuable to wildlife. Their flowers support several pollinating species including butterflies, bumblebees and moths, including the stunning Elephant Hawk Moth, which is attracted to the sweet scent of honeysuckle at night, when the aroma is strongest.
Hidden in the plant are often dormice, that use the bark of the honeysuckle to build their summer nests and who eat the nectar-rich flowers as a source of energy. Flowers that ripen into berries provide food for birds foraging in the autumn. The berries are poisonous to humans.
Honeysuckle can be propagated from semi-ripe cuttings (July-August), layering (Spring-Autumn) and through hardwood cuttings (Late Winter).
Interesting facts:
• Honeysuckle flowers, but not the fruit, are edible and recipes can be found for online for teas, jellies, sorbets and spritzers.
• It was once believed that if honeysuckle grew around a home’s entrance, it would bring good luck and stop any evil spirits from entering.
• Also known as woodbine; "Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine" is part of a poem describing Titania's, Queen of the Fairies, woodland bed (Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream).
For more information on wildflowers and shrubs please see our blog: https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/honeysuckle-lonicera-periclymenum-a-plant-for-mice-to-elephants/

Goldfinches love teasel and also melancholy thistle seeds; we saw them in our garden for the first time this year peckin...
02/09/2026

Goldfinches love teasel and also melancholy thistle seeds; we saw them in our garden for the first time this year pecking away at our one year old melancholy thistles.

Did you know that the perennial herb oregano is also known as wild marjoram and is native to the UK, although its scent ...
17/08/2026

Did you know that the perennial herb oregano is also known as wild marjoram and is native to the UK, although its scent is slightly different to the oregano grown in the Mediterranean. Used in in Greek and Italian cooking, flavouring everything from tomato-based sauces to pizzas, salads and grilled meats, its name derives from the Greek words meaning ‘mountain joy’ and describes the great displays of flowers the plants create on Greek mountain sides.
Wild marjoram flowers from July to September, growing up to 80cm tall. The flower has dense clusters of small, reddish purple, and very occasionally white, flowers. It is an important pollinator-friendly plant and is of high value to bees (Common carder bumblebee) and butterflies, including the caterpillar of the rare British Large Blue butterfly.
Wild marjoram can be found on verges, grassland and woodland margins, and particularly in limestone areas. It prefers full sun and dry soils. It is ideally suited in your garden, from informal wildlife areas to cottage garden flower borders. It can also be grown in containers, hanging baskets, herb beds and gravel beds.
For allotment holders, wild marjoram is recommended on vegetable patches as a companion plant, diverting pests from tomatoes.
Wild marjoram can propagate by seed sown in the spring. Propagation can also easily be done by taking softwood cuttings in early summer or dividing existing plants in autumn or spring.
See our blog for this and more native wildflowers: https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/wild-marjoram-origanum-vulgaretasting-mountain-joy/

Melancholy thistles, that in the past were used to treat melancholia, are an absolute bee magnet. We have seen up to 4 b...
11/08/2026

Melancholy thistles, that in the past were used to treat melancholia, are an absolute bee magnet. We have seen up to 4 bees this summer on just one flowerhead. And then the seed heads were devoured by goldfinches, which were new visitors to our recently created melancholy thistle area. This purple shaving brush plant, with soft, not spiky, stems, are native perennials, only recently declassified as Near Threatened on Natural England’s Red List Index. Since we started 3 years ago, Bee Friendly Wildflowers have donated over 800 thistle plugs to various projects in the north of England.
To find out how you can grow melancholy thistles, and help your garden become a wildlife haven have a look at our website: https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/melancholy-thistle-cirsium-heterophyllum-the-bee-magnet/
If you are unable to fit these beautiful plants into your garden, take a look at them in the summer at Hermitage Field Community Meadow at the Crook O’Lune, where you will see them flowering in their full glory: https://hermitagefieldcommunitymeadow.com/our-work/

Gresgarth Hall today... come and see us in this beautiful setting with a huge range of flowers all around us.
09/08/2026

Gresgarth Hall today... come and see us in this beautiful setting with a huge range of flowers all around us.

Now that we have had a bit of rain it is time to start thinking about how to brighten up your garden and make it more at...
06/08/2026

Now that we have had a bit of rain it is time to start thinking about how to brighten up your garden and make it more attractive to you and the bees. We will have a stall at Arnside Country market tomorrow (free to enter, stalls with very good cakes) and at Gresgarth Hall on Sunday. Please so come and say hello. We are happy to chat about what plants might be good for your garden without trying to persuade you to buy any! Photos show betony, sneezewort and bird's foot trefoil all currently in flower.

August should be the month with the warmest weather and your garden will be frenetic with activity. The hot and humid co...
02/08/2026

August should be the month with the warmest weather and your garden will be frenetic with activity. The hot and humid conditions will attract insects like hoverflies and ladybirds, that will keep the greenfly population in check. In dry spells, your pond will attract mammals like hedgehogs to drink. Broods of young birds will be seen exploring their new surroundings, whilst their adult parents will be hidden away undergoing their summer moult.
Watering. Continued spells of hot, dry weather mean it is vital to check the pond level and top up with stored rainwater. If your garden does not have a pond, then keep water bowls and bird baths topped up. Don’t forget that hanging baskets and container-grown plants will all need watering daily, normally in the evening to prevent plants dehydrating.
Taking semi-hardwood cuttings, from shrubs like guilder rose and honeysuckle. A semi-hardwood cutting is taken from the current year’s growth. These will have a woody base, but will be still green and soft at the tip.
Cut the shoot near to the point where it meets the main stem. Snip off the lower leaves and trim the cutting just below the leaf joint. Take off the soft tip just above a leaf joint so that the finished cutting is 5-10cm (2-4”) long. Insert the cutting, one third of its length, into a small pot of seed compost. Water well and cover the pot. The bottom half of a plastic drinks bottle works well as a mini greenhouse. Place the pot in a warm place but out of direct sunlight.
The cuttings should root in two or three weeks. Harden off the cuttings by gradually lifting the polythene to allow more air to circulate over the next three to four weeks. Transfer the cuttings individually into larger pots. Place the pots in a cool greenhouse or cold frame. Keep well-watered. Plant outside in the spring.
Trim native deciduous hedges like hawthorn, beech, field maple or hornbeam. Carefully check no nesting birds will be disturbed. Native hedges do not need trimming every year and should only be cut to retain shape.
Our wildflower of August is the common knapweed (Centaurea nigra). A common wildflower found on roadsides and hedge banks, it can also make an important, great garden plant. Tall and robust, its bold thistle-like flowers attract a good range of insects. In early autumn the seedheads are eaten by finches. A deep root system will capture large amounts of nitrogen, beneficially putting it back into your garden soil profile at depth. Established plants can be divided in the winter. Other August flowers include the meadow cranesbill and devil’s bit scabious.
For information on these plants and other wildflowers please visit our website at https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/
Many thanks go to Community Pollinator Patches, https://www.facebook.com/Communitypollinatorpatches, for their devil’s bit scabious photo.

Borage (Borago officinalis) : this is a non-native annual and flowers from June to September, to a height of around 60 c...
31/07/2026

Borage (Borago officinalis) : this is a non-native annual and flowers from June to September, to a height of around 60 centimetres. The flower has narrow blue petals and conspicuous blue stamens in the centre. The heads are large and many flowered.
Borage is found on verges and waste ground. As a native of southern Europe, borage likes full sun but will also tolerate light shade. It is ideally suited for informal areas of your garden such as wildlife areas. For allotment holders, borage is also recommended on vegetable patches as a companion plant, diverting pests from tomato or strawberry plants and can improve the flavour of strawberries. It can also be grown in containers, hanging baskets and gravel beds.
Borage can easily propagate by seed, sown April-May. Seeds should be covered with half an inch of soil/compost. Borage plug plants can also be added later in May-June. Both sown and bought plants should be thinned to 30cm apart to allow room to grow. Once established, borage will come up year after year from self-sown seed.
Borage is one of the most important pollinator-friendly plants and has a high value to wildlife including honeybees and many bumblebee species. The flowers are inverted and so nectar is not easily washed out by rain. More remarkably, after a bee has visited the flower, the borage plant will refill with nectar within 20 minutes. Yes, that’s correct…. 20 minutes, it’s a ‘fast-nectar-fly-thru’.
Interesting facts:
• Borage is much sought after by humans as well as insects, as both flowers and leaves are edible and reminiscent of cucumber. During the Middle Ages, borage was thought to guarantee courage in battle and their open flowers were offered in farewell drinks to departing Crusader knights.
• Later, borage was recommended on old Pimms bottles as an attractive garnish, together with lemon and ice. There are many edible decoration ideas for borage flowers, including freezing the borage flowers in ice cubes.
• Even after borage has flowered and dropped its seeds, the plant is still beneficial. Dying borage plants should be added to compost, where the calcium will be a welcome addition to your compost mix.

We had a few days away on the east coast and saw a beautiful hummingbird hawk-moth every day on the lavender on our pati...
26/07/2026

We had a few days away on the east coast and saw a beautiful hummingbird hawk-moth every day on the lavender on our patio. The only humming "bird" in Europe, it migrates from Southern Europe each year.
We also saw a sea of purple loosestrife, striking against meadowsweet plants. Purple loosestrife will be one of our plants for sale (and for project donation) next year.

Eggs and bacon on the beach? Find out why a plant with such a curious name is growing at Hest Bank and how you can grow ...
17/07/2026

Eggs and bacon on the beach? Find out why a plant with such a curious name is growing at Hest Bank and how you can grow and propagate it in your garden. Small but with beautiful warm sunset colours, it is a perfect plant for pots and borders in your garden and will benefit not just butterfly larvae and bees, but also its neighbouring plants. Granny’s Toenails is another name for this plant; find out why by going to:
https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/common-birds-foot-trefoil-lotus-corniculatus-eggs-and-bacon-on-the-beach/
Contact us if you would like to grow Bird's-Foot Trefoil in your garden.

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