Plant a Pitstop project aims to encourage locals to plant native wildflowers in urban gardens to help pollinators. Almond Valley Nature Action will be sharing free wildflower seed packets at our events, starting on Sunday 09/03/2025 in our March Ramble and Chat.
A small patch of wildflowers, can provide nectar rich flowers and habitat for bumblebees, butterflies, moths and other insects. The colourful blooms are not only a beautiful sight, but bring other benefits in your garden such as improving soil structure, and improving soil fertility. Even if you don’t have a garden, wildflowers can be planted in containers, in window boxes, or in hanging pots or baskets for your balcony; they will still be visited by multiple insects!
The wildflower mix we are sharing includes annuals, like cornflower and poppies that flower quickly, but also biennials and perennials that will continue to develop over the years; a total of 36 native species.
A wildflower mix will take a few years to establish, with annuals being prominent in the first year, a couple of species dominating the second year, and the full variety of perennial species coming up from year 3.
When to sow
You can sow wildflowers from early spring to early summer, or you can sow in autumn which means you will get wildflowers the following spring.
Choose your location
Find a space in your garden where you are happy to leave the wildflowers to grow, as they don’t do well if moved. A sunny spot is best. You can make a feature of this, for example planting them around a tree, or choose to sow a strip of wildflowers against the fence at the back of your garden.
Preparation and sowing
If planting on the ground: Clean the area from any grasses and other plants, by removing a layer of turf or topsoil. Break down the soil with a fork or rake, to prepare a fine seed bed.
Sow at 2g per m2. The seed packets we will be sharing will have 2g of seed. This is enough for an area of 1m x 1m, or 2m x 50cm, or multiple smaller containers. You can mix the seed with some dry sand so it is easier to spread.
After scattering the seed, walk over the area to press the seed into the soil surface. Water gently using a watering can with rose, or using a spray bottle.
If sowing in pots and containers: Choose a few containers that roughly are 1m2 (for example 4 square pots that measure 50cm x 50cm). You don’t have to buy new pots for this. You could repurpose containers like old washing bowls and buckets, just make sure to create some drainage holes. Another option is to ask friends and neighbours for empty pots, or even at your local garden centre. Or you can check sharing platforms like Freecycle, Gumtree, Olio, Facebook marketplace for freebies.
Fill your containers with soil and scatter the seed on top. Again, gently press them to ensure good contact with the soil, and lightly water them.
What to expect after sowing
After sowing, you will start seeing seedlings after a couple of weeks, and the annuals will bloom within a couple of months.
The cornfield annuals will only flower for one year, while the biennial and perennials will continue developing and flower in later years. Perennials are long lived species that will come back every year.
You can cut back perennial wildflowers after flowering, but we encourage you to leave the wildflowers all year round. The seed heads are a valuable habitat for insects and source of food for birds through the winter.
We hope that together we will plant hundreds of pitstops in our gardens to provide pollen and nectar for pollinators.
We would love to see your photos and the progress of your wildflowers patch! You can email us, or share these on Social media -look out for our posts!
Further resources
- Advice on Gardening for Bugs from Buglife
- Tips on Making a Space for Nature from Butterfly Conservation Trust
- App recommendations to help identify wildflowers, from PlantLife
Plant a Pitstop is supported by West Lothian Climate Action Network Eco Development Fund. Let’s create nectar rich wildflower patches in our urban neighborhoods.
Almond Valley Nature Action 