British Seed Houses has become one of the first in the industry to use the RHS ‘Perfect for Pollinators’ logo on its UK native wildflower mixtures.

The UK’s largest privately-owned grass seed company hopes it will encourage landscapers, greenkeepers, groundsmen and the general public to create areas which will encourage bees, butterflies and pollinating insects while also preserving our national wild flora heritage.

BSH has supplied a comprehensive range of UK native wildflower mixtures for more than 25 years

Richard Brown, Amenity Sales Manager at BSH, said: “We welcome the Royal Horticultural Society’s campaign to make people more aware of the plants they should grow to provide nectar and pollen for bees and many other types of pollinating insects.

“We believe that by carrying the ‘Perfect for Pollinators’ logos on our wildflower mixtures it will help our customers to make a choice which will support the campaign and do their bit for biodiversity as well as creating attractive, colourful swathes of wild flora.”

BSH provides a general range of UK native wildflower mixtures which is suitable for any area in the UK and also has a ‘regional environmental’ range which is targeted to specific areas and replicates the most common national vegetation classification.

Richard added: “We have technical advisers who can advise on wild flower projects. All our UK native seed stocks are produced on an annual basis to provide fresh seed.

“It is important in some areas that people specify UK native seed and not accept substitutes as some suppliers may not understand the implications of introducing foreign seed to the UK.

“There also needs to be greater awareness of the need to maintain wild flower areas If   left to its own devices a wild flora meadow can become rough grassland within a few years so a cutting schedule that maintains sward diversity is essential.”

Generally speaking wildflower mixtures can be sown all year round, but not in periods of extreme drought or water logging, and ideally sowings should be made into clean, weed-free ground.

For further information visit www.bshamenity.com

The RHS launched its Perfect for Pollinators campaign to highlight certain cultivated plants and wildflowers which are good for bees and other pollinating insects. Over the past 50 years a decline has been noted in many groups of British insects, including those that visit flowers. These include some common butterflies, moths, hoverflies and bees.

The reasons for this are said to be various and complex but part of the problem may be the reduction in the abundance of wild flowers in the countryside that has occurred over this period.

Visit www.rhs.org.uk and search ‘Perfect for Pollinators’ for further information.