Why should you plant wildflowers in Autumn?

17th September 2020

Why should we just plant wildflowers in Spring?!

There are lots of benefits to Autumn planting, it’s actually following nature’s natural course and here at Kabloom, that’s fundimentally what we want to do – to work with nature instead of against it! So as we move into the Autumn months (where has that time gone?!) we’re here to give you some reasons why it’s a great time to continue planting those bee-friendly Seedboms/seeds!

• The Autumn months are a great time to plant UK native wildflower species, with Grow Wild’s seed Scientist Ted Chapman arguing it’s actually better timing than the Spring! Most wildflowers naturally release seeds in late summer/Autumn, so it makes sense for us to follow nature’s lead and sow this Autumn.
• Forward planning your garden/flowers gets you ahead of the game and you’ll see beautiful wildflower patches early next Spring. This will provide lovely patches of colour after a bare winter and it’s also the perfect time for female bumblebees coming out of hibernation as they will be on the lookout for pollen and nectar.
• In the Autumn and Winter’s periods, there’s usually more moisturise in the air for the seeds to absorb which make perfect growing conditions.
• It’s also a lot more likely to rain in these months, which will mean less watering and letting nature handle this one! Great for lazy gardeners and as life is slowly returning to normal its a lot less time/ hassle.
• There’s a reduction in risk of birds damaging wildflower seeds and especially our Seedboms (birds are the usual culprits when they fail to grow), due to migration and also the availability of different food sources.
• As it gets even colder, the winter frost creates a cosy blanket which helps break the dormancy of newly sown seeds and assists in germination speeds.

Don’t forget the Bees!

• We usually think about bees in the hot summer months when we can see them in our gardens and buzzing around our pretty pollinating plants! This is because summer is their prime time, with plenty of flowering plants around to choose from they are very happy bees, but when we get into the Autumn months many of these sources disappear.
• Bees stockpile nectar in Autumn ready for the winter months and they also need a fresh and plentiful supply of nectar and pollen when they come out of hibernation in Spring.
• Late-blooming flowers are a great way of helping the bees out for this, as well as Autumn planting to ensure early wildflowers next Spring. This RHS Gardening page offers a great list of late flowering perennials!

Other ways to help the bees through Autumn/Winter:

• Shelter! Bumblebees need shelter to hibernate and providing these in your garden is a great, easy way to help our little friends past the summer. Check out G&B’s Bee Houses or make your own bee hotel (a great family-friendly activity) with whatever materials you can find in your gardens.
• Check out our Bee Hotel and Pollinator Beebom Gift Sets – the perfect duo containing a Bee Block Hotel and 2 x Pollinator Beeboms, perfect for Autumn planting for a buzzing variety of wildflowers next Spring!
• Keep some long patches of grass, resist clearing those borders until Spring and compost heaps are some of the many ideas!
• Don’t forget if you find a Queen bumblebee in Winter and there are no flowers nearby, you can make your own sugary drink with 1tsp of sugar and 1tsp of water, and pop in a shallow dish/bottle top next to her. This will give her the energy to fly to a new hibernation site or start a nest.