Wildflowers

The UK is home to a wide variety of beautiful wildflowers, which provide a vital food source for pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and other insects. Wildflowers can be found in a variety of habitats, from woodlands and hedgerows to meadows and roadside

Pollinators – bees, butterflies, moths, flies, wasps and more – rely on wildflowers as a vital source of food. In turn, 60 to 80 per cent of the world’s flowering plant species rely on animals to pollinate them, including many of our important food crops. Insects that feed on wildflowers also provide a food source for other animals and help to reduce the numbers of pests like aphids that attack crops.

Threats and conservation

According to the charity Plantlife, approximately 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost across the UK since the 1930s, while species-rich grassland areas, which used to be a common sight, are now among the most threatened habitats.

Large wildflower meadows of UK native species are the best thing for supporting insects and animals. While these can’t be created these in towns and cities, growing wildflowers in small spaces is still important, providing support for pollinators in areas where food and shelter are scarce. Green spaces in urban areas can also help our health and wellbeing, both as individuals and as a community.

Wildflowers in Highfield Park

At Highfield Park we are actively increasing our wildflower areas, Not mowing certain areas of the park during the summer, using plug plants and wildflower seeds to increase diversity and conserving our bluebells in Winchfield Wood.