Growing wildflowers is a great way to add colour and interest to your garden while creating a valuable habitat for bees, butterflies and other pollinators. But before you buy a bag of wildflower seed, it’s worth thinking about where you’re going to sow it and what type of soil you have. Wildflowers aren't one-size-fits-all, and choosing a mixture that suits your ground can make a big difference to the results you get.
At South West Seeds, we have a wide range of wildflower mixtures designed for different soils, locations and growing conditions, from sunny, sandy ground to heavy clay soils, shady areas and even damp ground around ponds and water margins.
Before choosing your wildflower seed, know what you're working with.
Soil pH and nutrient levels can have a big influence on which plants will thrive. If you’re not sure whether your soil is acidic, alkaline, fertile, heavy or sandy, a simple soil test is a good place to start.
Our Basic Soil Test Kit tests for phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), pH and lime requirements, giving you a much better idea of the conditions you're working with. The kit includes a sample bag, paperwork and a pre-paid return envelope, with results and recommendations provided following analysis.
Test your soil first → Find the right wildflower mixture → Sow with confidence.
It's a simple step, but it can save you money and disappointment by helping you choose a mixture that's suited to your ground.
Once you know what type of soil and conditions you have, choosing your mixture becomes much easier.
If you're gardening near the coast, you're likely to be dealing with strong winds and salty conditions that not every wildflower will tolerate.
Our Cornish Coastal Wildflower Mix has been selected for coastal conditions and is a great option for exposed areas where you want to establish a colourful wildflower display.
Not all wildflowers need full sunshine. If you're looking to create a wildflower area underneath trees or in a naturally shaded part of your garden, a standard sunny meadow mixture may not be the best choice.
Our Woodland & Heavy Shade Wildflower Mixture is designed for these lower-light conditions, making it a better choice for woodland edges, tree-covered areas and heavily shaded parts of the garden.
If your main aim is to bring more bees and pollinating insects into your garden, our Bees Knees mixture is worth considering.
It contains a mixture of native and horticultural wildflowers selected with pollinators in mind, giving you a colourful display while providing a useful source of nectar and pollen.
We also have our dedicated Queen Bee mixture if supporting pollinators is your main priority.
If you don't have particularly difficult soil conditions and simply want to create a colourful wildflower area, our Standard Wildflower Seed Mixture is a good place to start.
We also offer a Value Wildflower Seed Mixture for a versatile, general-purpose option.
These types of mixtures are ideal if you're looking to transform part of a garden, create a wildlife area or simply introduce more colour and biodiversity.
If you're looking for something that feels more like a traditional wildflower meadow rather than a bed of flowers, consider an 80:20 meadow grass and wildflower mixture.
The grasses provide structure and a more natural meadow appearance, while the wildflowers add colour throughout the growing season. The grasses are slow growing and relatively low maintenance, allowing the wildflowers to establish without being overwhelmed.
If you want maximum colour and pollinator impact, a 100% wildflower mixture may be more suitable.
Heavy soils can be difficult to work with, particularly if they hold a lot of moisture.
Our Heavy Soils Wildflower Mixture has been selected for clay and moisture-retentive ground, making it a better option where standard wildflower mixtures may struggle.
Got a wet patch of ground that never seems to dry out? Rather than fighting it, why not work with it?
Our Water Margins Wildflower Mixture is designed for damp soil, wetland areas and pond edges, giving you an opportunity to turn an awkward part of the garden into a useful wildlife habitat.
If your soil test shows that you have acidic or low-pH soil, choosing a mixture suited to those conditions is important.
Our Acid Soil Wildflower Mixture is designed for lower-pH soils and is a good option for creating a wildflower area without having to completely change the natural conditions of your ground.
Sandy and chalky soils have their own challenges. They tend to drain quickly and can be lower in nutrients than heavier soils.
Our Chalk & Sandy Soil Wildflower Seed Mixture has been designed specifically for these conditions.
If you're after a colourful display relatively quickly, our Cornfield Annual Wildflower Seed Mix is another option.
Annual wildflowers can create a fantastic burst of colour and are particularly useful when you're looking to establish a colourful area rather than create a traditional permanent meadow.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when growing wildflowers is assuming that more fertile soil is always better.
It isn't necessarily the case.
Many wildflowers actually perform well in less fertile conditions, where they don't have to compete with vigorous grasses and weeds. That's why understanding your soil before you start can be so useful.
Our Basic Soil Test Kit gives you information on your soil's pH and key nutrients, including phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, as well as lime requirements.
It really comes down to your soil and what you're trying to achieve.
Coastal and exposed? Try Cornish Coastal Wildflower Mix.
Heavy shade or woodland? Look at Woodland & Heavy Shade.
Want to attract bees? Try Bees Knees or our Queen Bee mixture.
Want a traditional meadow? Consider an 80:20 meadow grass and wildflower mixture.
Heavy clay soil? Choose Heavy Soils.
Damp or wet ground? Water Margins could be the answer.
Acidic soil? Try our Acid Soil mix.
Chalky or sandy? Look at Chalk & Sandy Soil.
Want a general-purpose mixture? Standard Wildflower or Value Wildflower are good places to start.
And if you're not sure what you've got, test your soil first.
At South West Seeds, we supply a wide range of wildflower mixtures designed for different soils and situations, so you can choose your seed based on the conditions you actually have rather than simply hoping a mixture will work.
Test your soil. Choose the right seed. Give your wildflowers the best possible start.
Trust the experts in seed – Trust South West Seeds.
