Bee Friendly Wildflowers

23/10/2026

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

📢 Make your mark on an epic conservation project by sponsoring trees for Skiddaw Forest Nature Reserve. Together, we'll bring a rainforest to life! ⛰️💧🌳

To recap: our restoration plans for the site include growing a 620-acre temperate rainforest to boost biodiversity and create a haven for a range of species.

We've already made a start on growing the 600,000 trees needed, by setting up six tree nurseries across Cumbria. Now, we need your support to get. it. done.

Sponsor trees today, for yourself or as a gift. Your sponsorship will help to:
🌳 keep the nurseries running
🌳 ensure the trees have everything they need to grow
🌳 fund staff time to do the work needed and coordinate our dedicated volunteers

Here's the link! 👇
https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/sponsor-tree-skiddaw-forest

The Skiddaw project is supported by as part of The Atlantic Rainforest Restoration programme.

21/10/2026

Bee Friendly Wildflowers is proud to announce that we will be playing a part, albeit a very tiny one, in the Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Skiddaw project; the 100-year vision that is aiming to restore 3,000 acres of habitat on England’s highest nature reserve.
As well as growing native trees to bring back 620 acres of lost Atlantic Rainforest, the Trust is also wanting to plant approximately 20-30 hectares with native wildflowers, beginning with growing the species best suited to thrive along Skiddaw’s watercourses. This autumn/winter Bee Friendly Wildflowers will be growing locally sourced meadow sweet, water aven and devil's bit scabious wildflowers, which will be handed over to the Skiddaw project team as seedlings next spring. We hope to help plant out the wildflower plugs on site in 2027/28.
Attached photo shows Wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris) and Devil’s-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis) already flourishing there.
For more information see the CWT page: https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/news/skiddaw-forest-englands-highest-nature-reserve-one-year or look at our project page: https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/projects/.

16/10/2026

The Offending Bloom: As Halloween approaches and children pretend to be evil spirits playing pranks on innocent bystanders, legend has it that the devil himself once played his part by taking his revenge even on the mildest of wildflowers. Succisa pratensis (truncated plant of the meadow) infuriated the devil with its ability to treat conditions as wide varying as coughs to leprosy and so he bit away part of the root, hoping to put an end to its good work. The devil left the plant with the abruptly shortened root we see today of the Devil’s Bit Scabious flower.
Not only good for many human ailments, this beautiful, delicate, lilac coloured flower offers both nectar and pollen during the late summer and autumn, helping to support pollinators as they prepare for winter by providing a valuable food source when others are scarce. It is also the sole larval foodplant for the declining Marsh Fritillary butterfly.
For more information on this plant and how to grow it please see our blog here: https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/1247-2/

13/10/2026

Lancaster and Morecambe Crematorium are developing small peaceful beautiful areas with native wildflowers and also creating a wildlife pond. Today we were proud to make a small donation to this project by giving them gentle plants such as betony, devil's bit scabious, sneezewort and cowslip, amongst others. We hope people enjoy them.

12/10/2026

Autumn sale: Our biennial plants need to go into the ground now to take advantage of the warm wet weather. They will put down roots and flower next year creating food for pollinators and birds. All teasel and viper's bugloss are now 2 for £3. Please email us.

07/10/2026

Come and see us at the last sales of the season. It's a perfect time for planting wildflowers; warm, wet and the w**ds are dying back so there will be no competition as they establish roots over the winter, giving you beautiful flowers loved by bees in the spring. We will be at Arnside County market on Friday 9th Oct and Gresgarth nr Caton, on Sunday 11th October. If you're not sure what is suitable for your garden/meadow or pot we can help advise.

04/10/2026

October is the month where the wildlife garden enjoys the last warm spells of summer. It is also a busy time for planning and planting, not only planning the layout of next year’s garden, but to ensure garden residents and visitors have everything they need to get them through winter months. Making your garden healthier and more wildlife friendly doesn’t have to cost you anything. Please see our blog for more detail on the following: https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/blog/

Propagate your current stock: With UK Springs becoming warmer and drier, Autumn is now the best time to sow/ plant the seeds, bulbs and offcuts you have collected from your garden.
Plant out biennial and perennials cuttings: These will be next year’s border and container garden flowers. You could also set a small part of your garden aside to create a mini meadow creating a focus point for colour and pollinators. An area of just 2x3m is sufficient.

Mulch garden beds and borders using well-rotted manure and avoid collecting up any leaves. This should improve the soil, boost wildlife habitat and keep areas w**d free until spring planting.

Save on expensive fencing by creating a dead hedge in an area you want to obscure such in front of recycling bins.
Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs and trees: Cuttings are taken when these plants are just starting their period of winter dormancy.

Our wildflower of October is the sedum (Sedum spectabile)
This perennial produces pink, crimson or mauve flowers and prefers full sun in garden borders. Butterflies and bees flock to sedum, in search of nectar. The wide flowerheads remain intact into late autumn, becoming food for birds like goldfinches. Plant out small pot-grown ‘Autumn Joy’ variety, in mid-autumn.

25/09/2026

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria): nature’s cure for nasty smells and headaches.
Meadowsweet is a native hardy perennial and flowers from June to September. Its flowers are sweet-smelling and are gathered into frothy, creamy-white clusters on tall stems. In times-gone-by the flowers have been used as a carpet to freshen medieval houses, it is a natural source of aspirin and is used to flavour mead. Its pollen, being of high protein value, is important to wildlife including bumble bees and hover flies.
Find out more about meadowsweet and how it can be grown in your garden by going to our blog: https://beefriendlywildflowers.co.uk/1209-2/

16/09/2026

Now is the best time to start putting plants in your garden so they can establish themselves in the warm wet ground and then fill your garden with colour and insect noise next spring. Come and see us on 20th September at Kendal's autumn fete in Abbot Hall Park and find out how we can help you chose which plants are best for you and your garden. .

13/09/2026

This week we were delighted to supply 495 plants to Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. Plants such as betony, devil's bit scabious, melancholy thistle and water avens are on their way to be planted out in areas around Yorkshire. More to be delivered later this autumn - the perfect time to start planting whether for big prjects, gardens or pots.